Preliminary Life Cycle Analysis in designing waste-to-energy innovative system: case study of TEAPOTS project

This thesis presents a preliminary Life Cycle Assessment of the TEAPOTS integrated waste-to-energy system. TEAPOTS is an innovative Horizon Europe project that combines pyrolysis with an organic Ranking cycle, a thermally driven cooling system and a compost heat recovery system to convert heterogenous agricultural residues into valuable outputs such as renewable electricity, cooling, biochar and compost. Due to the evolving stage of the project, the main purpose of the study was to establish the methodological framework for future studies, and not to provide a complete impact assessment. The focus of the work was on goal and scope definition, including system’s functional unit, boundaries and major assumptions. Project documentation and recent literature was used to design a qualitative system model, complemented with preliminary quantitative insights where robust data were available. In this way, it is possible not only to clarify the structure of the TEAPOTS system but also to provide a first comparison with conventional waste management practises. The baseline scenario, which treats one tonne of wet agricultural waste, suggest that TEAPOTS has the potential to achieve lower gross greenhouse gas emissions than conventional routes. Moreover, when accounting for avoided burdens (i.e., displacement of fossil-based energy and chemical fertilizers, and long-term carbon sequestration in biochar and compost) the system could theoretically reach net-negative emissions. Beyond climate change, TEAPOTS demonstrates other advantages: reduced transportation needs, internal energy recirculation and multifunctionality that combines waste disposal, clean energy production, and soil fertility enhancement. The methodological contribution of this thesis consists in establishing a coherent reference scenario and a transparent boundary definition, capable of guiding future life cycle assessment studies and projects on agricultural waste valorisation.