POWER September 2016 - 70

FUELS
Indian MSW is neither digestible nor combustible,
greatly limiting potential WTE generation.
Several Indian WTE projects have
failed due to lack of waste segregation, while
others have failed due to financial and logistical
problems.
Bureaucratic
challenges
often prevent
WTE technologies and innovations from being
implemented within the country, resulting
in their export to countries such as Malaysia
and China. A lack of consultants with professional
expertise sometimes leads to tender
documents that are incomplete, incorrect, or
copied from prior documents without considering
local waste supply characteristics
and site environmental requirements. Finally,
some WTE projects have failed because of
delays in power payments from municipalities,
which can commonly be delayed by
three to six months.
One WTE plant in a Delhi suburb, which
burned 1,900 mt per day of MSW, faced closure
over its high stack emissions-dioxins
and furans were found to be more than 120
times the permitted amount. The root cause
of the problem was twofold. First, the plant
utilized
boiler technology designed for a
more energy-dense fuel than Indian MSW.
Second, the waste segregation entering the
plant was especially poor, resulting in very
poor combustion quality. In response to complaints
and court actions against the plant, in
November 2015 the National Green Tribunal
ordered the plant to greatly improve its waste
segregation prior to combustion.
Two government efforts are under way to
improve the attractiveness of WTE projects.
The first is a move to amend the Electricity
Act 2003 to require state electricity distribution
companies to purchase all power generated
from MSW. The second is an effort by
the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission
to set a generic electricity price for WTE
projects. Another effort is the Swachh Bharat
Mission national cleanliness and waste reduction
drive, which includes 74 MW of
new WTE generation from six new plants by
2017.
Sweden. Sweden is often considered
a WTE success story, as about 49% of its
household waste is burned in WTE facilities.
Driven by a desire to diversify its energy
security, as a result of the oil shocks of the
1970s, Sweden now has a very diverse mix
of nuclear, renewable, fossil, and unconventional
energy sources.
Most of Sweden's WTE output goes toward
steam and hot water heating, with only
a small amount used for direct electricity
generation. As a result, the country's energy
utilization factor for MSW is quite high, with
waste providing 15% of Sweden's district
heating needs in the most recent data available.
Factors that have driven Sweden's success
include:
T +49 2961 7405-0 | info@rembe.de
■ High landfill tipping fees
■ Bans on landfilling combustible waste
■ A carbon tax and an aggressive renewable
portfolio standard
■ Comprehensive MSW recycling, resulting
in improved segregation entering WTE
plants
EXPLOSION SAFETY
and
PRESSURE RELIEF
for Power Plants
Consulting. Engineering. Products. Service.
Gallbergweg 21| 59929 Brilon, Germany
F +49 2961 50714 | www.rembe.de
Inc.
3809 Beam Road Suite K | Charlotte, NC 28217, USA
T +1 704 716 7022 | F +1 704 716 7025
info@rembe.us | www.rembe.us
CIRCLE 32 ON READER SERVICE CARD
70
An extensive district heating network, expanded
considerably after World War II, has
indirectly helped WTE projects by allowing
for easy use of generated steam. Perhaps
most importantly, the Swedish public supports
its WTE network, although cleaner renewable
energy enjoys greater support.
Japan. WTE projects can sometimes
yield unexpected benefits to a community.
On March 11, 2011, a powerful earthquake
hit the northeast coast of Japan, triggering a
massive tsunami, which not only destroyed
most of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power
Plant but also caused extensive damage to
or destroyed more than 300,000 buildings. Japan
also has extensive experience with WTE
projects and burns more than three-quarters
of its MSW to produce energy. As a result, to
help with the disposal of millions of tons of
www.powermag.com
disaster debris and to provide much-needed
power to replace that lost by the shutdown
of Japan's nuclear capacity, it was decided to
construct 16 MW of WTE capacity to incinerate
the combustible portion of the debris.
When the debris waste has finally been exhausted,
the power plant will continue generation
with wood waste from local lumber
and paper mills.
The plant was operational in 2013 and was
located near Ishinomaki City. It was designed
as a single plant for 1,500 mt per day capacity
with multiple incinerator modules. However,
a 2013 report said the incinerator operated
way below capacity due to concerns with
transporting waste to the site-both health
concerns and concerns over spreading radiation.
(POWER could not confirm whether or
not this plant is still operating.)
Malta. Unlike the MSW " giants " of China,
India, and the U.S., the tiny island nation
of Malta faces a different problem with its
waste. Although it has only 445,000 inhabitants,
as a result of both its large tourist influx
each year and its small land area, Malta has
the highest ratio of MSW mass per square
mile of land area. Because landfill space is at
an absolute premium on the archipelago, one
of the solutions to Malta's waste problem is
the construction of the Maghtab waste treatment
plant.
Handling 66,000 mt of MSW, 47,000 mt
of bulk waste, and 39,000 mt of animal manure
per year, the Maghtab Environmental
Complex uses both mechanical treatment
and anaerobic digestion to generate almost
10 GWh of electricity.
Other WTE efforts are under way in Malta
to further increase WTE generation and reduce
landfilled waste, including engineered
landfills to improve collection of gases and
thermal treatment facilities to process both
animal and hazardous waste.
Summary Outlook for WTE
Projects
Although WTE projects and the sector as a
whole are unlikely to ever be a major player
on the world energy stage, they can yield
several co-benefits and play an important
role in an energy business that is increasingly
focused upon innovative methods of
bringing electricity to all the peoples of
the world. Even in the developed world,
generating companies with a focus on the
margins of resource utilization may find
unique opportunities from utilizing waste
as an energy source. ■
-Una Nowling, PE (nowlinguc@bv.com)
is an adjunct professor of mechanical
engineering at the University of MissouriKansas
City and the technology lead for
fuels at Black & Veatch.
POWER | September 2016
© REMBE | All rights reserved
http://www.rembe.de http://www.rembe.us http://www.powermag.com
POWER September 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of POWER September 2016
