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Phthalate esters (PAEs) are fat soluble synthetic chemicals, usually regarded as plasticizers for being added in numerous plastic products. Thus, environmental and health hazards of PAEs are associated with increasing plastic pollution. In this study, PAEs from sludge samples collected from water, sewage, and industrial treatment plants (N = 17) were analyzed using Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry. Microplastics (MPs) were also quantified and correlated with PAEs. Results showed the highest average PAE concentrations in sewage treatment plants. The greatest ΣPAEs concentration were found in sewage treatment plant (STP4) with 32,414 μg/kg dw, while the lowest found in water treatment plant (WTP3) with 2062 μg/kg dw. Among different PAEs, di-(2-ethyl hexyl) phthalate (DEHP) contributes the highest. Similarly, DEHP, di-n-octyl phthalate (DnOP) and diisononyl phthalate (DiNP) significantly correlated with the total PAEs indicating their large contribution to sludge contamination. The abundance of microplastics in sludge ranged between 1 and 7 MP/g, highest at ITP6, but not detected in some stations. While microplastics may potentially increase PAEs, there was no significant relationship between ΣPAEs and MP abundance. The estimated human daily intake of DEHP and di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP) when contaminated sludge be used showed low toxicological risks to exposed adults. This research presents the sludge characteristics, PAEs, and microplastic concentrations in different wastewater treatment plants in Taiwan. PAE contamination was highly contributed by domestic and industrial wastes shown by their significant amounts in STP and ITP. Results further provide evidence for potential sludge recycling (WTP sludge) and application to soil. [Display omitted] • The ΣPAEs concentration ranged between 2062 and 32,414 μg/kg in sludge samples. • DiNP, DnOP, DEHP contributed >94% of PAEs in sludge samples, except ITP2 and ITP6. • Low toxicological risk of WTP sludge shows possible disposal and soil application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to industrialization and economic development, urban expansion in St. Petersburg (Russia) has swelled its solid waste generation. The current waste management system does not meet the city's needs. Fundamental changes are required to accelerate its sustainability transition to achieve the 2030 UN's Sustainable Development Goals. This article critically evaluates and analyzes the existing situation of waste management in St. Petersburg and its role in promoting digitalization-based circular economy. Challenges in waste recycling that prevent it from reforming its waste management are identified. Lessons drawn from Taiwan's prowess in resources recovery are presented to inspire a transformation of its waste sector towards a digitalization. The implications of digitalization on the city's waste recycling industry are elaborated. Before applying digitalization, St. Petersburg encountered challenges such as a lack of proper infrastructure in waste management, low public participation and environmental awareness, technological gaps, and insufficient coordination among its institutions. As one of the world's leaders in waste recycling (65%), Taiwan was selected as a role model for St. Petersburg in improving its waste management. The Island's daily per capita rate decreased by 96% to 0.4 kg in 2015. Taiwan also minimized the amount of waste disposal into landfills to less than 2%, while 80% of its industrial waste was recycled. About 33% of annual waste generation in Taiwan was reduced through "Pay-as-you-throw" policy. The average volume of municipal solid waste generation per capita decreased by 20% to 0.91 kg/day. This suggests that moving towards digitalization has minimized the extraction of raw materials through resource recovery. As implications of digitalization in waste management, the consumption of virgin materials could be lowered by 25% in 2030, while a half of greenhouse gas emissions could be avoided. The World Economic Forum estimated that the circular economy could potentially add USD 700 billion in material savings to global economy. [Display omitted] • Taiwan attained the second highest recycling target of 65% after Germany (67%). • Taiwan's 'Keep Trash off the Ground Policy' is transferable to St. Petersburg. • Pandemic hastens the transformation of recycling industry through digitalization. • Achieving carbon neutrality requires both economic and technological development. • Consumption of virgin materials could be lowered by 25% in 2030 by adopting CE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this study, the yield of hydrogen production was investigated under different feedstock pretreatment conditions. The feedstock for dark fermentative hydrogen production was textile wastewater which was obtained from the de-sizing process in a textile factory, located in northern Taiwan. The wastewater was pretreated with activated carbon, cation exchange resin or was not pretreated before being fed into the batch bottles. Biohydrogen production was carried out in a batch reactor with the sludge of mixed-culture using the feedstock from the pretreated wastewater. The sludge was obtained from the Taichung municipal wastewater treatment plant. The yield of hydrogen production using the two pretreatment methods or non – treatment were compared. Results showed that the textile wastewater could remove bio-toxic inhibitors by using activated carbon. The best hydrogen yield was 1.37 mol H2/mol reducing sugar with an initial pH 7.0, as substrate concentration was fixed at 20 g total sugar/L. Using textile wastewater as feedstock for biohydrogen production was successful, in removing bio-toxic inhibitors from wastewater with activated carbon pretreatment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The present study deals with the biohydrogen production from starch-containing wastewater collected from the textile industry in Taiwan. The effects of inoculums collected from different sources (sewage sludge, soil and cow dung), substrate concentrations (5–25 g COD/L) and pH (4.0–8.0) on hydrogen production from wastewater were investigated. The cow dung seed had the highest hydrogen production of 101 mL with hydrogen content in biogas of 32.2%. It corresponds to a hydrogen yield (HY) of 1.56 mol H2/mol hexose and hydrogen production rate (HPR) of 0.93 L/L/d. Response surface methodology was used to evaluate the effects of initial cultivation pH (4.0–8.0) and substrate concentration (5–25 g COD/L) on the hydrogen production at 35 °C. At pH 7.0 with a wastewater concentration of 20 g COD/L, a maximum hydrogen production of 66 mL with 31.9% H2 and corresponding to an HY of 0.97 mol H2/mol hexose and an HPR of 1.14 L/L/d were obtained. According to the response surface analysis, the optimal conditions for high HPR were a wastewater concentration of 13 g COD/L at an initial cultivation pH of 7.0. The main soluble metabolic products were acetate and butyrate for hydrogen fermentation from textile wastewater. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In order to develop a sound material-cycle society, cost-effective municipal solid waste (MSW) management systems are required for the municipalities in the context of the integrated accounting system for MSW management. Firstly, this paper attempts to establish an integrated cost–benefit analysis (CBA) framework for evaluating the effectiveness of MSW management systems. In this paper, detailed cost/benefit items due to waste problems are particularly clarified. The stakeholders of MSW management systems, including the decision-makers of the municipalities and the citizens, are expected to reconsider the waste problems in depth and thus take wise actions with the aid of the proposed CBA framework. Secondly, focusing on the financial cost, this study develops a generalized methodology to evaluate the financial cost-effectiveness of MSW management systems, simultaneously considering the treatment technological levels and policy effects. The impacts of the influencing factors on the annual total and average financial MSW operation and maintenance (O&M) costs are analyzed in the Taiwanese case study with a demonstrative short-term future projection of the financial costs under scenario analysis. The established methodology would contribute to the evaluation of the current policy measures and to the modification of the policy design for the municipalities. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Aqueous characteristics and activity concentrations of U/Th-series radionuclides were investigated in the birthplace of hokutolite – the Peito Hot Spring Area in Taiwan. Water samples were taken in 12 locations from the hot spring pond and the Peito Creek in this study. Temperature, acidity and redox potential exhibited similar trends decreasing from the hot spring pond toward downstream Peito Creek. The aqueous environment of this area existed in an acidic and oxidative state and was found influenced by hot spring water drawing and wastewater discharge. Major ions in water were Fe3+, Ca2+, Sr2+, Ba2+, Pb2+, Cl− and SO4 2−, which (except for Ba2+) generally varied with sampling locations in a tendency similar to those of temperature, acidity and redox potential. U/Th-series radionuclides were examined by α spectrometry while 226Ra were determined with ICP-QMS. Th-series was found predominant over U-series in this area. Activity concentrations of 238U (0.09±0.02 to 2.69±0.13pCi/L) and 234U (0.10±0.02 to 2.64±0.13pCi/L) were similar and the activity ratios for 234U/238U were greater than unity. For 230Th and 226Ra, the activity concentrations were respectively 0.07±0.03 to 0.86±0.06pCi/L and 0.17±0.02 to 1.49±0.06pCi/L, which led to activity ratios of 230Th/234U lower than unity while those of most 226Ra/230Th greater than unity. In Th-series, the activity concentrations of 232Th (0.06±0.02 to 0.90±0.06pCi/L) and 230Th were similar at the sampling area. Apparent disequilibria were discovered between 228Ra and 232Th resulting from abundant 228Ra (6.01±0.41 to 10.5±0.8pCi/L). The variation for activity concentration of 228Th (0.43±0.06 to 9.26±0.18pCi/L) with sampling locations was similar to that of 232Th. However, significant disequilibria were discovered between 228Th and 232Th. The reported data contribute to the assessment of radionuclides distribution and the investigation of hokutolite recovery in the studied area. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Slag material was dumped in two sites off southwestern Taiwan by the China Steel Corporation during 1984–1995. By geochemically analyzing four sediment cores, we investigated the impact of slag on the sediment chemistry. Elemental profiles from the dumping sites show a strong depletion in detrital elements and enrichment in alkaline and redox-sensitive elements, especially for the top ∼20cm of sediments. The relative enrichment factor (EFrel) exhibits wider range for Ca (0.73–13.33), Fe (0.88–3.03), Mg (0.94–9.58) and Mn (1.22–33.30) due to contamination of sediments by slag. Sediment weathering indicators also show a distinct change with lower values in sediments influenced by dumping due to Ca and Sr addition. Higher EFrel for As, Cd and Pb in the top sections of the cores indicate an additional modern/industrial input of these elements since ∼1950. Our study suggests that slag dumping may have a localized effect on biogeochemical processes by inducing the diagenetic remobilization of certain elements. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Two sub-technologies, pig production and wastewater control, in pig farm operation are considered. This paper develops a multi-activity DEA (data envelopment analysis) model to simultaneously measure productive efficiency (PE) and environmental efficiency (EE) in farrow-to-finish pig production in Taiwan, and to explore several theorized causal relationships between performance and farm-specific knowledge. The empirical results prove that the estimated PE and EE do not belong to the same distribution. That suggests that using an identical ‘technical efficiency’ index to represent PE and EE would get a biased result when undesirable outputs are considered. PE is higher than EE, but the two are positively correlated. Analytical results support the presence of economies of scale in sample farms. Providing training to farmers and computerizing farm operations are critical determinants of PE; providing training to operators of wastewater control facilities and the operator''s education level showed a positive impact on EE. Such information is valuable for both farmers and the authorities in making decisions to enhance productivity and environmental protection in the pig sector in Taiwan. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration (Taiwan EPA) launched a national Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system after integrating eight private recycling organizations in 1998. After that, the environmental performance of the EPR system brought a lot of attention to policy makers. Many studies show positive environmental effects of the EPR system in Taiwan. However, there are controversial questions remained, such as whether the performance indicators used are the right choice to estimate the environmental effects of the recycling policy? Can those estimated results really reflect the performance of the system? This paper would therefore like to more accurately evaluate the performance indicators of the EPR system based on data observed over the past decade in Taiwan. In the process of evaluating the performance indicators, we have found that the collection rates for durable goods are often ignored in countries that pursue a zero waste policy. This may affect the actual recycling outcome and resource direction targeted by producers. However, in order for the collection rate to be adopted as a policy indicator, how to estimate the amounts of retired or waste products during a period is critical. In this paper, we estimate the collection rate for electrical and electronic waste by using the survival analysis and ownership data analysis approaches. We also provide a comparison of both approaches and put forward suggestions for directions in the future in solid waste management. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We investigated the occurrence and distribution of pharmaceuticals (including antibiotics, estrogens, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), beta-blockers, and lipid regulators) in three rivers and in the waste streams of six hospitals and four pharmaceutical production facilities in Taiwan. The most frequently detected pharmaceuticals were acetaminophen, erythromycin-H2O, sulfamethoxazole, and gemfibrozil. NSAIDs were the next most-often detected compounds, with a detection frequency >60%. The other analytes were not detected or were seen in only a few samples at trace concentrations. The present study demonstrates a significant discharge of human medications from hospital and drug production facilities into surface waters in the Taipei district. The high concentrations of pharmaceuticals found in the Sindian and Dahan rivers demonstrate the alarming degree to which they have been impacted by urban drainage (waste effluents from hospitals, households, and pharmaceutical production facilities). The ubiquitous occurrence at extremely high concentrations of acetaminophen and erythromycin-H2O in both rivers (up to 15.7 and 75.5 µg/L) and in wastewater from hospitals and pharmaceutical production facilities (up to 417.5 and 7.84 µg/L) was unique. This finding, in combination with acetaminophen's status as the drug most often prescribed by Taiwan's dominant clinical institute, suggests the potential use of acetaminophen as a molecular indicator of contamination of Taiwan's aqueous environments with untreated urban drainage. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study provides the first evidence on the influence of the semiconductor and electronics industries on perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) contamination in receiving rivers. We have quantified ten PFCs, including perfluoroalkyl sulfonates (PFASs: PFBS, PFHxS, PFOS) and perfluoroalkyl carboxylates (PFCAs: PFHxA, PFHpA, PFOA, PFNA, PFDA, PFUnA, PFDoA) in semiconductor, electronic, and optoelectronic industrial wastewaters and their receiving water bodies (Taiwan's Keya, Touchien, and Xiaoli rivers). PFOS was found to be the major constituent in semiconductor wastewaters (up to 0.13mg/L). However, different PFC distributions were found in electronics plant wastewaters; PFOA was the most significant PFC, contributing on average 72% to the effluent water samples, followed by PFOS (16%) and PFDA (9%). The distribution of PFCs in the receiving rivers was greatly impacted by industrial sources. PFOS, PFOA and PFDA were predominant and prevalent in all the river samples, with PFOS detected at the highest concentrations (up to 5.4μg/L). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A pilot-scale study of pharmaceutical wastewater treatment by a membrane bioreactor (MBR) process in southern Taiwan is presented in this paper. A 10 m3/day capacity MBR plant consisting of an aeration tank and a membrane bioreactor was installed to remove organic matter (measured in terms of chemical oxygen demand (COD)). The performance of the MBR was monitored for a period of 140 days. The removal of COD was on average over 95%. The effluent did not contain any suspended solids. During the 140 days of operation, manual cleaning was carried out twice and chemical cleaning was carried out once. A natural logarithmic evolution of the viscosity with TSS concentration was observed. The results of SEM and EDX demonstrated that the fouling on the membrane outer surface was mainly due to microorganisms and/or the sludge physiological properties. The results indicated that the MBR system has potential as a means of treating high-strength and fluctuating strength wastewater with consistent performance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this work, inside-out tubular TiO2/Al2O3 composite membranes were prepared, characterized, and used for electrofiltration of oxide-CMP (chemical mechanical polishing) wastewater obtained from a wafer fab in Taiwan. The extrusion method and sol-gel/slip-casting method were employed for fabricating the membrane layer of TiO2 inside of the tubular substrate of Al2O3. A process of firing followed. Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffractometry, permporometry, and molecular weight cut-off determinations have verified the prepared tubular products were indeed inside-out tubular TiO2/Al2O3 composite membranes suitable for ultrafiltration applications. Experimental results of electrofiltration have shown that the prepared tubular TiO2/Al2O3 composite membranes are capable of removing a great extent of water quality criteria of concern from the target wastewater to yield permeate with a turbidity of lower than 0.75 NTU. Permeate thus obtained could be used for make-up water of cooling towers and other purposes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Infectious industrial waste management in Taiwan is based on the specific waste production unit. In other countries, management is based simply on whether the producer may lead to infectious disease. Thus, Taiwan has a more detailed classification of infectious waste. The advantage of this classification is that it is easy to identify the sources, while the disadvantage lies in the fact that it is not flexible and hence increases cost. This study presents an overview of current management practices for handling infectious industrial waste in Taiwan, and addresses the current waste disposal methods. The number of small clinics in Taiwan increased from 18,183 to 18,877 between 2003 and 2005. Analysis of the data between 2003 and 2005 showed that the majority of medical waste was general industrial waste, which accounted for 76.9%–79.4% of total medical waste. Infectious industrial waste accounted for 19.3%–21.9% of total medical waste. After the SARS event in Taiwan, the amount of infectious waste reached 19,350tons in 2004, an increase over the previous year of 4000tons. Waste minimization was a common consideration for all types of waste treatment. In this study, we summarize the percentage of plastic waste in flammable infectious industrial waste generated by medical units, which, in Taiwan was about 30%. The EPA and Taiwan Department of Health have actively promoted different recycling and waste reduction measures. However, the wide adoption of disposable materials made recycling and waste reduction difficult for some hospitals. It has been suggested that enhancing the education of and promoting communication between medical units and recycling industries must be implemented to prevent recyclable waste from entering the incinerator. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Taipei Municipal City (TMC) began implementing a policy of a plastic-bag-based disposal fee for household solid waste treatment in July 2000, while other counties kept their same charge of a disposal fee based on potable water consumption. Taiwan''s EPA has highly valued the outcome of TMC''s new policy and has thus required all counties to follow TMC in employing a policy of a plastic-bag-based disposal fee accompanied by a compulsory sorting system. We attempt to verify whether the new policy implemented by TMC is successful in the reduction of general waste collected and then we seek to identify what other factors contribute to such a successful result. This paper provides a general overview of household waste management practices employed in Taiwan and the changes of household waste collected over time through simple statistical analysis and management practices, including evaluating waste recovery and recycling initiatives. The authors employ statistical analysis to verify TMC''s new policy and to examine the factors that affect its success in addition to the policy changes through a test on the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC). We separate the data into three groups: TMC, non-TMC regions, and the pooled data (combination of TMC and non-TMC). The results show that: (1) the policy of a plastic-bag-based disposal fee is significantly effective in the reduction of general waste collected; and (2) the per capita household solid waste collected in both regions (TMC and non-TMC) is significantly related with household incomes in an EKC relationship. However, the test of EKC relationships on the pooled data is not significant. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Incineration is a major treatment process for municipal solid waste in Taiwan. It is estimated that over 1.5Mt of incinerator ash are produced annually. This study proposes using thermal plasma technology to treat incinerator ash. Sintered glass–ceramics were produced using quenched vitrified slag with colouring agents added. The experimental results showed that the major crystalline phases developed in the sintered glass–ceramics were gehlenite and wollastonite, but many other secondary phases also appeared depending on the colouring agents added. The physical/mechanical properties, chemical resistance and toxicity characteristic leaching procedure of the coloured glass–ceramics were satisfactory. The glass–ceramic products obtained from incinerator ash treated with thermal plasma technology have great potential for building applications. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Taiwan is the second most densely populated country in the world; its 22.604 million residents (2002) live in an area of 35,967km2 (628people/km2). Taiwan’s economy has grown rapidly during the last 20 years, resulting in a corresponding increase in the amount of municipal solid waste (MSW). This study describes and evaluates the municipal solid waste management system in Taiwan. The study’s results indicate that the amount of MSW began to decline after 1997, when the government enforced aggressive MSW management policies. By 2002, total MSW production had dropped by 27%, and the average daily per capita weight of MSW had fallen from 1.14kg in 1997 to 0.81kg in 2002. Summarizing the successful experience of MSW reduction in Taiwan, the most important factor was the government’s combining of the MSW collection system with reduction/recycling programs. The second most important factor was the policy of extended producer responsibility, which laid a foundation of recycling by producers and retailers and promoted public recycling. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This is the first full scope study of wastewater reclamation and reuse on public WWTP in Taiwan. A 50 m3/day pilot plant with membrane and biological systems of wastewater reclamation has been deployed and operated in the WWTP of Hsinchu Industrial Park, northern Taiwan. The reclaimed water has been transported to five factories and been used as the fresh water supply as well as the makeup water of cooling tower. The future construction of a 10,000 m3/day wastewater reclamation plant has been proposed and financially investigated. The business plan of BTO is proposed for future development. The 50 m3/day pilot plant consists of a membrane UF/RO system followed by the systems of high efficient biological oxidation systems BioNET and/or BAC. The bench-scale membrane scaling/fouling test and magnetic anti-scaling system are also introduced to verify the mechanisms of membrane scaling and fouling. The result of the pilot study shows that the reclaimed water can conform the drinking water standard and can be used as the make-up water of cooling tower as well as the manufacturing water of many industrial applications. The concentrate of RO process can fit the effluent standard and can be discharged directly to the river nearby. There are 88.6% of the factories in the industrial park express their willingness of using reclaimed water and 4600 m3/day is requested after the preliminary poll. The cost of reclaimed water is around US$0.54/m3 (including construction, O & M and transportation) which is higher than the tariff of tap water (US$0.27/m3) but lower than the cost of seawater desalination as well as that of reservoir construction. Under BTO business plan, a wastewater reclamation plant of minimum 10,000 m3/day is proposed in order to make profit for future operation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The objective of this paper is to present a compilation of recent Taiwan government laws/regulations to promote industrial waste recycling. The description is thus centered on legislation/regulations concerning general industrial wastes recycling in the policies of environmental protection, economic incentives and engineering technologies (3E) that have become effective since 2001. The regulatory system, including Waste Disposal Act, Resource Recycling/Reuse Act, Environmental Basis Law, and Statute for Upgrading Industries, not only gives financial incentives, but also provides technical assistance and information transfer on promoting industrial waste recycling. In order to further utilize the recyclable resources and upgrade the environmental technology, Taiwan’s Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), in cooperation with the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), has jointly ventured some promotion programs, which highlight an Industrial Waste Exchange Information Center and Environmental Technology Park Development Program, also described in the paper. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In order to conservatively utilize natural resources, Taiwan’s Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), in cooperation with the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), has mandated the regulatory system and promotion programs for industrial waste reuse and pollution prevention. The newly-designated 43 items for reuse were promulgated by the MOEA under the authorization of the Waste Disposal Act (WDA) in January 2002. Also, joint efforts at industrial waste minimization (IWM) have made noteworthy progress towards the promotion of reusing/reducing industrial waste since 1990. The IWM program not only provides technical assistance and financial incentives, but also enhances resource reuse and conservation through Industrial Waste Exchange Information Service Center. These measures have brought significant benefits by saving treatment/disposal costs and improving productivity. This paper presents the regulatory system and implementation promotion on industrial waste reuse and pollution prevention in Taiwan. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Industrial symbiosis (IS) has contributed significant environmental and economic benefits in many industrial parks or regions, with inter-firm trade of wastes or by-products for reuse. To facilitate IS in more regions, information systems and tools could help identify the opportunities for more companies to mimic the successful cases of by-product synergies. A review of existing IS information systems showed that most lack sufficient quality data, are not operational, or are not publicly accessible. In addition, studies on the development of IS information systems have only limited descriptions of the programming approaches used to create the tools for matching companies and illustrating complicated network by-product synergies based on IS data. Based on Taiwan's waste data, this work presents a well-established IS information system with three applications designed for target users, including the companies involved in IS, the facilitators seeking to grow IS in industrial parks or regions, and waste management authorities. This web-based system was based on massive amounts of detailed industrial by-product input and output datasets. In the by-products' records of more than one metric ton per year, there are 1833 patterns of different by-products reused by various industries. A comparison with other IS information systems and data repositories shows the advantage of using a government-owned industrial waste database with detailed waste classification in identifying massive by-product synergies. Novel data visualization technologies are employed to interactively generate diagrams or networks in response to the user selection of by-products or industries of interest. A demonstration of the query on the sugar manufacturers using sugar cane presents ten by-products and potentially 222 reuses by different industries. [Display omitted] • An information system of rich by-product synergies built with industrial waste data. • The publicly accessible web applications empower the search for IS opportunities. • A method to explore by-product synergies from structured datasets is presented. • The program renders three kinds of interactive data visualizations for target users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrial manufacturing significantly contributes to energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions throughout the world. Global warming and its associated changes in the world climate pattern are accepted worldwide as the gravest threat to humanity. To mitigate the impacts of global warming and to solve future energy demands, industrial waste heat is regarded as a possible answer. In this paper, a bottom-up approach is presented to estimate the theoretical and technical waste heat potentials. More than 11,000 data sets of boilers from different industries were evaluated, and the results show that the theoretical (temperature≥35 °C) and technical (temperature≥150 °C) industrial waste heat potentials can be up to 89.66 PJ/y and 6.92 PJ/y, or 17.3% and 1.3% of the total industrial heat energy use in Taiwan, respectively. The majority of the waste heat potential (61.8%) is in the 100–150 °C temperature range, 25.4% is in the range of 150–200 °C, and 11.0% is above 200 °C. Industrial waste heat (IWH) can be converted into electricity through heat conversion technologies. Organic Rankine cycle (ORC) has been recognized as a well-known and promising solution to recover IWH, and the theoretical and technical power generated for this technology were identified as 311,249 and 24,022 MW, respectively. • A bottom-up approach is presented to estimate the theoretical and technical industrial waste heat potentials. • The method is based on mandatory reported data from the Online Energy Declaration (OED) system. • The theoretical industrial waste heat potential is 89.66 PJ/y. • The theoretical power generation based on the ORC technology can be 311,249 MW. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]