Complex-value optimisation of power plant systems co-firing coal with biomass and SRF

Interventions that focus on protecting the environment and human health, have started to be incorporated in various sectors. One such intervention is the co-firing of biomass and SRF with coal in power plants. While this intervention contributes positively to reducing carbon emissions and other pollutants from the extraction and burning of fossil fuel, it may also result in a number of hidden aspects, the evaluation of which is important. In order to provide the basis for such evaluations the technical aspects that govern the basic premises of such interventions have to be clarified. In the case of biomass and Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF) co-firing with coal, the physical and chemical properties of the fuels and the technical implications that these may have on the process performance and the produced by-products, are of significant importance. This is because technical interventions may result in implications in the environmental, economic and social domains of value, indicating the interdependencies between them. Therefore, for assessing the sustainability of biomass and SRF co-firing with coal, a systemic approach is required in order to transparently assess the benefits and constraints associated with it and provide solutions that seek to maximise the recovery of value of resources. Further research towards that direction is urgently required in order to fully capture the potential economic, environmental, and social impacts associated with co-firing interventions.