Content derived from Wikipedia article on Waste to Energy

Waste-to-energy

Waste-to-energy (WtE) or energy-from-waste (EfW) in its strictest sense refers to any waste treatment that creates energy in the form of electricity or heat from a waste source that would have been disposed of in landfill, also called energy recovery. More advanced Waste-to-energy processes result in usable fuel commodity, such as hydrogen or Ethanol upon completion of process.

Waste-to-energy and incineration

Waste-to-energy has become synonymous with incineration. Modern incinerators are vastly different from the old dirty incinerator, and efficiently burn waste in modern boiler furnaces, capturing the released heat to make steam and electricity. Modern incinerators can also reduce the volume of the original waste by 90%, depending upon composition and use of outputs[citation needed]. Unlike the older designs, modern incinerators incorporate air pollution control systems and continuous emissions monitors.

 Modern incinerators are considered to be sources of partly renewable energy by the USA federal government and 15 USA states that have established renewable energy programs[citation needed]. Also some European countries that have established renewable energy programs consider energy production through incineration as renewable [citation needed]. However others, such as the UK, do not consider incineration to be renewable because plastics originate from non-renewable fossil fuels.

Energy from waste in other technologies

There are a number of other new and emerging technologies that are able to produce energy from waste without burning the waste directly. These technologies are considered to generate renewable energy and are widely perceived to be more publicly acceptable.

Thermal technologies:

Gasification (partly renewable)

Pyrolysis (partly renewable)

Plasma arc waste disposal In infancy

Non-thermal technologies:

Anaerobic digestion

Mechanical biological treatment

MBT-Anaerobic digestion (renewable energy)

MBT-Refuse derived fuel (partly renewable)

See also

Incineration

List of solid waste treatment technologies

Waste management

Wikipedia Address: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waste-to-energy

Web Resources

Waste-to-Energy Plant Diagrams:

Recycling Waste to Energy Process:  A diagrammatical representation of how the waste to energy is processed.

Investing in waste-to-energy : Companies in the waste-to-energy industry enjoy a unique advantage over traditional energy companies: The world's supply of oil will run out long before its supply of garbage.

Turning Waste Plastics into Renewable Energy: The Polymer Energy™ system is an award-winning, innovative, proprietary process to convert waste plastics into renewable energy.

CASE STUDY - THE CHALLENGE: IMPROVING THE PERFORMANCE OF A WASTE-TO-ENERGY FACILITY: The City of Long Beach, California was looking for a way to improve the operational efficiency of its Southeast Resource Recovery Facility (SERRF), a recycling and solid waste-to-energy plant. To replace inlet damper control and reduce energy consumption, variable frequency drives (VFDs) were installed on the induced draft fans of three boiler systems.

Waste Management and Design for Recycling: These Studies have been prepared for Envirowise by recognised industry experts in plastics processing, and are designed to offer practical advice on the best and most cost-effective approaches. The publications fit together with materials from the sister Energy Efficiency Best Practice Programme to give a complete cost cutting guide to plastics processing.

EIA Renewable Energy-Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Data and Information: The municipal solid waste industry has four components: recycling, composting, landfilling, and waste-to-energy via incineration.

Waste to Energy Technologies: Organic waste-to-energy technologies can be broadly classified as either biochemical, chemical or thermal processes, and will be individually discussed.

Hydro Aero Power:

Introduction to Nuclear Energy for Civilian Purposes: How It Doesn’t Work – Risks and Dangers of Nuclear Energy. Proliferation Risks.

Energy Recovery From Mixed Waste Paper:

Thermogenics: Solid Waste Disposal and Energy Problems: gasification, waste management. ... Waste-to-Energy ... which helps to minimize landfill problems such as groundwater contamination and methane generation. 

Pyromex Waste to Energy Technology: Swiss Company Pyromex has been developing waste management technologies for almost twenty years. Their goal is to lower emissions and reduce landfill waste with their patented ultra-high temperature gasification system.

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