Overview of the Department of Energy's research, development and demonstration program for the recovery of energy and materials from urban waste

This program is directed at improving and developing technologies that reprocess waste into fuels, metals, glass, paper, ammonia, glucose, fertilizers, and other energy-intensive products. Nontechnical issues relating to institutional, socio-economic, and legal constraints to resource recovery are also being investigated. This paper briefly describes the technological options available in the field of resource recovery. Some of the approximately 80 projects comprising the Urban Waste Technology Branch's R, D, and D program are discussed and related to the overall objectives of th branch. To facilitate this presentation, projects are grouped as being primarily related to mechanical, thermal, or biological processes. To date, the majority of R and D funding has been devoted to biological processes including anaerobic and enzymatic digestion, energy production and conservation in water and waste water treatment, and energy generation and recovery in sanitary landfills. However, demonstration activities, representing slightly less than half the program effort, are focused on the thermal/mechanical systems. DOE activities ar coordinated with the EPA and other Federal, state, and local efforts in resource recovery to ensure the development of an efficient and comprehensive national resource recovery program. If successful, approximately 3% of the nation's energy needs could be supplied by reprocessing wastes.