WTE technology processes municipal solid waste through a combustion chamber which burns the waste and reduces its mass to 10% of its original volume. The combustion process generates heat that then heats water into steam that is sent through a turbine to generate electricity. Most types of garbage are permitted to be combusted in this process; however, some types of waste, such as medical waste and hazardous materials, are prohibited. The process of incinerating the waste produces ash waste which requires significantly less land area for disposal than the original matter.
The U.S. EPA regards municipal solid waste as a renewable energy source, though it describes many potentially harmful impacts of air pollution and water use as a result of WTE facility operations. However, in a detailed study research proved that WTE technology actually reduces greenhouse gas emissions since it diverts waste from landfills, where it would otherwise generate harmful methane gas, and generates electricity, thus conserving resources in electricity plants. Covanta Energy, a global WTE corporation, maintains that WTE is clean energy as it reduces dependency on foreign fuels, reduces greenhouse gases, and is an effective solution for solid waste management.
Waste-to-Energy facilities are widely used in Europe, with many countries processing millions of tons of waste yearly in 1999, such as the United Kingdom, Switzerland, France, and Germany.
Today this amount has likely increased, as the technology has improved over time. While Europe leads the way in sustainable energy, the United States has many WTE facilities that promote sustainable energy practices. One such facility exists in Fairfax County, Virginia – the Covanta Fairfax I-95 Energy/Resource Recovery Facility in Lorton, which is “Covanta Energy’s largest facility, processing 3,000 tons per day” and “sells up to 79 megawatts of renewable energy to Dominion Virginia Power Company” which powers 75,000 homes in the area.
While recycling and waste reduction are priorities in solid waste management plans, achieving a 100% recycling rate is not a practical goal. However, if the waste that is not recyclable could be generated into electricity through WTE facilities, the United States could significantly reduce the amount of waste in landfills as well as greenhouse gas emissions, thus creating more sustainable waste management and energy systems.
This would be a great thing for VT to get involved with; considering how much trash we produce and how much energy we use. I read about the use of incineration in Europe, as you stated, and they claimed that it was VERY clean energy. They compared incineration to having a fire in your fireplace and the effects were relatively the same. To think that we could produce energy and lessen the amount of waste put into landfills at the same time, how could we not try it?
ReplyDeleteI agree. The two-fold advantage to this practice seems undeniable; lowering the amount waste and increasing the amount of energy. I feel like any new technology for energy production should be investigated, as we are in dire need of new sources. I would have to question the amount of pollution this method would seem to make. The burning of waste can't be very clean. Also, I am curious about the cost to install a plant, because that seems to be the same problem most new energy production methods are facing in today's economy.
ReplyDeleteRegarding pollution, the Covanta site in Fairfax mitigates pollution in several different ways. First, the pollution from the burned waste is run through a "filter bag house" that removes particulate matter. They also inject carbon to absorb mercury, and lime to reduce acid gases. So even though it may look like a ton of pollution is emitted from the stack, it's really just water vapor.
ReplyDeleteAs for the cost, the Covanta Fairfax site cost $280 million in 1990, which was payed for by revenue bonds by the Fairfax County Revenue Authority. Clearly not every locality could afford this technology, but in large, wealthy areas like Fairfax, the technology is efficient due to high volumes of waste that are accepted from a vast and highly populated area. The high tonnage of waste generates enough electricity for the facility to be cost-efficient.