Due to the demographic change in Europe the amount of incontinence waste is expected to increase drastically. In Germany, the incontinence waste stream is currently estimated as 200,000 metric tonnes per year. The 'INKOCYCLEâ€-Project focuses on a combination of energy and material recovery from adult incontinence waste. Energy recovery is pursued by anaerobic digestion of the biodegradable fraction of the diapers whereas material recovery options are targeted for the digestion residue. The anaerobic digestion of the biodegradable organic fractions results in 663 L biogas per kg organic dry residue, with an average composition of 56 % CH4 and 44 % CO2. Based on the original waste the gas yield is 155 L biogas per kg of used diapers. The digestion residue mostly consists of the non-biodegradable plastic components, adhering biomass and the superabsorbent polymer. The calorific value of the ‘plastics fraction’ (dry residue 42 %) is about 12 MJ per kg of washed digestion residue.
Due to the demographic change in Europe the amount of incontinence waste (used adult diapers) is expected to increase drastically. In Germany, the incontinence waste stream is currently estimated as 200,000 metric tonnes per year (MEYER, 2014). This corresponds to a share of 1.4 % by weight of annual residual waste in Germany (Destatis, 2014). About 60 to 80 % of the residual waste of German Aged Care Facilities (ACFs) consists of used incontinence products (BECHER, 2009). Cost pressure in the health care sector demands for economically and ecologically sound management Systems for this waste stream. Since the organic carbon content of incontinence waste are above the waste acceptance criteria for landfilling the only secured way of disposal is incineration. The Research project 'INKOCYCLE†(project number: 03FH006PX2, funded by the Federal Ministry of education and research) aims at the development of a cost effective and ecologically sound alternative to the conventional disposal as well as the elaboration of an overall concept for the treatment of incontinence waste, incorporating waste logistics. Energy recovery is pursued by anaerobic digestion of the biodegradable fraction of Thein continence waste coupled with the use of the dried fermentation residue as refuse derived fuel (RDF).
| Copyright: | © Wasteconsult International |
| Quelle: | Waste-to-Resources 2015 (Mai 2015) |
| Seiten: | 11 |
| Preis: | € 0,00 |
| Autor: | Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Johanna Heynemann Dipl.-Ing. Steffen Herbert Dipl.-Ing. Thomas Luthardt-Behle Prof. Dr. Harald Weigand Prof. Dr. Ulf Theilen |
| Artikel nach Login kostenfrei anzeigen | |
| Artikel weiterempfehlen | |
| Artikel nach Login kommentieren | |
Europäische Rechtsvorgaben und Auswirkungen auf die Bioabfallwirtschaft in Deutschland
© Witzenhausen-Institut für Abfall, Umwelt und Energie GmbH (11/2025)
Bioabfälle machen 34 % der Siedlungsabfälle aus und bilden damit die größte Abfallfraktion im Siedlungsabfall in der EU. Rund 40 Millionen Tonnen Bioabfälle werden jährlich in der EU getrennt gesammelt und in ca. 4.500 Kompostierungs- und Vergärungsanlagen behandelt.
Vom Gärrest zum hochwertigen Gärprodukt - eine Einführung
© Witzenhausen-Institut für Abfall, Umwelt und Energie GmbH (11/2025)
Auch mittel- bis langfristig steht zu erwarten, dass die Kaskade aus anaerober und aerober Behandlung Standard für die Biogutbehandlung sein wird.
Die Mischung macht‘s - Der Gärrestmischer in der Praxis
© Witzenhausen-Institut für Abfall, Umwelt und Energie GmbH (11/2025)
Zur Nachbehandlung von Gärrest aus Bio- und Restabfall entwickelte Eggersmann den Gärrestmischer, der aus Gärresten und Zuschlagstoffen homogene, gut belüftbare Mischungen erzeugt. Damit wird den besonderen Anforderungen der Gärreste mit hohem Wassergehalt begegnet und eine effiziente Kompostierung ermöglicht.