ARCHIVED REPORTS_1981 - Laserfiche WebLink

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RECOVERY AND REUSE OF SECONDARY MATERIALS AND ENERGY RESOURCE CONSERVATION OPTIONS Energy Recovery Systems Prohibition and closure of open dumps, remoteness of accepLt-able land- fill sites, increasing energy costs, and the desire to conserve natural resources has prompted the development of refuse -to -energy projects as an integral part of solid waste management systems. Municipal solid waste represents an alternative source of energy which can both supplement the nation's energy supply and reduce the landfill volume demand. Residential and commercial wastes represents 60 to 70 percent of the waste disposed and constitute the major portion of the solid waste stream suitable for processing via energy recovery systems. The remaining 30 to 40 percent of the solid waste stream consists of inert wastes with little or no recoverable enrgy value. The inert material can be recovered through material recovery processes associated with energy recovery facilities or by a separate approach. The majority of the inert wastes, as well as residues from the energy recovery system, must be deposited in landfill sites, and therefore, energy recovery systems cannot totally eliminate the need for landfill capacity. There are three basic categories of recovery processes which extract usable energy from refuse: • Incineration with Heat Recovery Refuse -Derived Fuel (RDF) Production • Pyrolysis The state of development of refuse to energy conversion varies widely with various technologies being applied from the pilot plant basis to actual commercial on-line applications. Commercial applications in the United States currently consist of incineration with heat recovery and refuse - derived fuel production facilities. The use of the energy/fuel product is dependent upon,local market conditions. A brief description of the processes and general assessment follows: Incineration with Heat Recover The current application of the incineration process is to reduce volume and recover the waste heat for steam production which in turn is used in electrical generation, industrial processes, and heating and cooling systems. D-1