POWER September 2016 - 68

FUELS
efit, the combustion of plastics is a negative
factor. However, if one considers the fossil
fuel CO2
avoidance, energy credits from increased
metals recovery for recycling during
the segregation process, and, most importantly,
avoided landfill methane emissions, according
to the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, approximately 1 ton of CO2
e emissions
are avoided for every 1 ton of MSW
combusted. (For more on this issue, see " Energy
from Waste: Greenhouse Gas Winner or
Pollution Loser? " in the July 2016 issue or at
powermag.com.)
Worldwide WTE Projects and
Lessons Learned
Globally, more than 4 billion metric tons
(mt) of solid waste are generated each year
by humanity, of which between 1.6 billion
and 2.0 billion mt is MSW. On a global
scale, 70% of this waste is landfilled, 19% is
recycled, and only 11% is utilized in WTE
schemes. Due to many logistical and economic
drivers-such as primary fossil energy
scarcity, landfill volume restrictions, and
high waste fuel availability-there is greater
WTE project experience outside of the U.S.
than within.
Many different factors determine whether
a WTE project will be successful, so an engineer
or plant owner who is interested in exploring
the potential benefits of WTE should
carefully examine not only the waste supply
characteristics and availability but also how
other WTE projects around the globe have
encountered success-and failure. The following
is a summary of several noteworthy
or unique WTE lessons learned.
U.S. After removing recyclable and composted
materials, according to the Department
of Energy, more than 151 million mt of
MSW are produced each year in the U.S. As
of 2014, 32 million mt of MSW were burned
each year in 84 WTE plants. With a total installed
combined heat and power capacity
of 2,769 MW, 14.5 TWh of electricity were
generated from WTE in 2014.
Although greater utilization is possible,
construction of new WTE plants in the country
has lagged, despite most states considering
WTE projects as being renewable energy.
In 2015, the Palm Beach Renewable Energy
Facility No. 2 commenced generation, utilizing
three Babcock & Wilcox Stirling boilers
with traveling grate combustors to generate
95 MW from processing 2,721 mt per day
of MSW. This project is successful due to
a well-engineered system, which includes
comprehensive emissions controls: a spraydryer
absorber for SO2
control, pulse-jet
fabric filter for particulate removal, and a
cold-side selective catalytic reduction system
for NOX
control. Fly and bottom ash are processed
to remove metals by rotary magnets
and eddy current separators.
But other recent projects have been less
fortunate. A proposed 160-MW MSW incinerator
in Baltimore with a capacity of
3,628 mt per day was halted this May by
the Maryland Department of the Environment
over both health and environmental
justice concerns. This is the second recent
setback for WTE in the state; on March 17
of this year, Harford County's WTE project
of nearly 30 years was shut down after its
main steam customer, the U.S. Army, decided
to utilize a natural gas cogeneration
project instead.
China. More than 160 million mt of MSW
are produced each year in China, and facing
a projected waste volume growth of 8% per
year, China budgeted $42.5 billion for waste
treatment facilities from 2011 to 2015, about
half of which was directed for construction of
new WTE incinerators.
In 2015, China employed 178 WTE incinerators
with a gross installed capacity of 34.4
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POWER | September 2016
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POWER September 2016

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