Power generation from waste incineration

Incineration of municipal solid wastes (MSW) with heat recovery for power generation is being used increasingly in the US to reduce the volume of wastes to be landfilled. High-temperature incineration is also beginning to be used to decontaminate sites where hazardous chemicals were disposed of in the past with large amounts of heat usually wasted in such incinerators. This report presents a characterization of MSW incineration technologies, an energy market evaluation in the DADS area, an evaluation of energy recovery from waste tires, a conceptual design of an integrated incineration power plant, and an economic analysis of hazardous waste processing costs and potential savings with an integrated facility. Analyses of the amount and types of hazardous wastes, appropriate incineration technologies, a process design to size flue gas heat recovery equipment, and cost estimates for hazardous waste incinerator systems and heat recovery equipment were performed by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) in a companion study and used in this report. The primary conclusion of this study is that processing cost savings with an integrated waste incinerator power plant range from 6 to 20% of costs compared to separate hazardous waste incineration. However, this result depends on the amount and moisture content of the waste material and the electricity value sold to the local utility. Other results and conclusions include the types of hazardous waste incineration technologies recommended, the market for energy products, and institutional restraints and requirements. 32 refs., 17 figs., 20 tabs.