Waste Technologies

Organic waste-to-energy technologies can be broadly classified as either biochemical, chemical or thermal
processes, and will be individually discussed below.

Figure 1 Pathways which waste can be converted to energy or energy related products
(courtesy of the Australian Business Council for Sustainable Energy.)

Bio-chemical Conversion
Digestion is a bio-chemical process by which organic waste is broken down by the action of bacteria into
simple molecules, either aerobically (with oxygen) or anaerobically (without oxygen). Aerobic digestion takes
place where the waste is aerated, such as in the early stages of decomposition of municipal solid waste
(MSW) and during composting. Anaerobic digestion takes place where the waste has restricted aeration, such
as in the later stages of the decomposition of MSW or in the digestion of sludges or wastewater in enclosed
digestion vessels. Aerobic digestion produces carbon dioxide and water, whereas anaerobic digestion
produces methane and water, and also some carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide. The gas produced by
anaerobic digestion can therefore be combusted and used, either to produce electricity or heat, thereby
converting the methane gas to carbon dioxide (with a lower global warming potential).
Worldwide, the dominant methods of MSW disposal are to place it into landfills or on open rubbish tips.
Although these disposal methods have low initial costs, they may contribute to serious local air and water
pollution; they produce obnoxious odours; they look unsightly; and they release methane, which is an
explosive gas with a high global warming potential. The traditional alternative, incineration, is frequently

opposed as a generic approach due to environmental impacts, such as toxic emissions, and the poor or zero
energy recovery from the wasted resource. Suitable sites for landfilling are becoming scarce. The traditional
alternative of combustion in the open air also gives environmental problems, and even incineration under
controlled conditions is frequently opposed as a generic solution, due to perceived environmental impacts
such as toxic emissions and the poor or zero energy recovery from the wasted resource. Waste-energy
projects can alleviate such disposal problems and utilise an otherwise neglected resource to partly offset the
costs of disposal.

Anaerobic Digestion
Anaerobic digestion is the decomposition of wet and green biomass through bacterial action in the absence
of oxygen to produce a mixed gas output of methane and carbon dioxide known as biogas, which can then
be used as a substitute for fossil fuels. Both liquid and solid wastes or green crops can be digested to
produce biogas, a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide, which are both greenhouse gases.

The natural decomposition of organic wastes in the absence of oxygen (anaerobic decomposition) by
bacteria, occurs on the bottom of lakes and wetlands indicated by gas bubbles rising. It is a major source of
methane, one of the major greenhouse gases resulting from hydropower installations when the surrounding
land area is first flooded and the vegetation decomposes over fairly long periods of time.

The breakdown of the organic materials involves a number of biological steps, each involving a well defined
class of bacteria that absorb energy from the gradually decomposing biomass, which is finally converted to
methane, carbon dioxide and water. The process can be encouraged by placing the organic material in large
airtight tanks known as digesters, and the biogas produced captured for use. As a result, odours are removed
and the pollution potential of the waste is reduced. Biogas can be burnt directly in thermal applications
displacing natural gas in cooking and space heating, or used as fuel in internal combustion engines to
generate electricity. One example of an Australian biogas installation is Berrybank farm, located at
Windermere, west of Ballarat.
Berrybank Farm is home to 15,000 pigs, fed in an intensive feedlot farm, operated by Melville Charles. The
large number of pigs at Berrybank farm produce the same quantity of effluent as a city of 40,000 people almost two-thirds as much as the City of Ballarat. To address the disposal issue, Melville Charles has installed
an anaerobic digester. Berrybanks recycling system cost approximately $2 million to install, which was
repaid in five years through sales of the products and efficiency savings (Victoria Museum, 1999). Products of
the recycling system are; 7 tonnes of fertiliser, large amounts of mineralised and recycled water, and 1,700

cubic metres of biogas per day that is used in a cogeneration plant to generate 2900 kW of electricity daily
(The University of Ballarat, 2004). The electricity is used on the farm and fed into the electricity grid, the
mineralised water to irrigate crops, and the remaining solids is used as potting mix, fertiliser, compost and
worm food (Victoria Museum, 1999).

Figure 2 A component of the biogas installation at Berrybank farm

( Museum Victoria Australia 1999).

Another Australian biogas project undertaken by

Agricycle

Pty Ltd in Western Australia was supported by a grant

from the Waste Management and Recycling Fund to establish a facility for converting chicken manure into
energy.

Figure 3 Typical volumes of biogas and composition produced by digestion of various feedstocks at 35 oC and typical retention
times at a loading of 5% solids in farm scale tank digesters. (source: New Zealand Standards Association).

Digesters range in size from around 1m for a small household unit to as large as 2000m for a large
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commercial installation. In Western Australia, the Water Corporation operates wastewater digesters at its
Woodman Point operation, which separates sludge from the water.

Figure 4 Egg-shaped anaerobic digesters at Woodman Point rated at 1.8 MW

(courtesy of BG&E Consulting Engineers).

Figure 5 Plant flow diagram for Woodman Point facility

(Source: WA Water Corporation).

At Woodman Point the sludge is digested in one of two 38-metre tall anaerobic digesters. Biogas produced by
the digester is used on site to provide electricity, and excess power is sold to the electricity retailer, Western
Power Corporation. What is left after the digestion is complete and the gas is extracted is a sludge.
This

biosolid

is dried then sold as a soil conditioner and fertilizer to the agricultural and landscaping industries.

Figure 6 A Spreader dispersing biosolid fertilizer

(courtesy of Jesse Baro).

Another of the Water Corporation waste-water treatment sites, in Subiaco Western Australia, uses the
world's first "Oil from Sludge" process. This process, known as Enersludge converts the organic component of
the waste sludge into a pyrolytic oil with properties similar to crude oil.

Landfill Gas
Landfill gas is an adventitious fuel that is a by-product of current landfilling practices and hence occurs only
after MSW has been disposed of in a totally non-sustainable way. The anaerobic digestion of the buried solid
organic waste produces the landfill gas naturally, as the bacterial decomposition of the organic matter
continues over time. It is an extremely low efficiency way of recovering energy from MSW. In the long run, as
the use of landfills necessarily dwindle, landfill gas will disappear as a resource. It is thus of an inherently
transient nature, but will be covered here as many examples of landfill gas plants exist.

Figure 7 Gases produced by a typical landfill site.

The methane produced in landfill sites normally escapes into the atmosphere, unless the landfill gas is
captured and extracted by inserting perforated pipes into the landfill.

Figure 8 Landfill gas extraction and generation - 2.9 MW plant in Glasgow

(Source: CLP Envirogas).

In this process, the gas will travel through the pipes under natural pressure or a slight vacuum to be
collected and used as an energy source, rather than simply escaping into the atmosphere to contribute to
greenhouse gas emissions. The burning of the methane to produce carbon dioxide and water also reduces the
greenhouse impact of landfill, as carbon dioxide is a less potent greenhouse gas than methane.

Figure 9 Power generation from landfill gas and solid waste to energy recycling
(Image adapted from Australian Energy News).

Concerns over the disposal of waste in landfill sites have led to the development of hybrid technologies, such
as

Solid Waste to Energy Recycling

processes, which produce energy rich-gas at a higher efficiency. This energy-rich gas

can then be combined with the landfill gas prior to the generation of electricity.
In theory, up to 300m of biogas per tonne of waste can be extracted from a landfill gas site over a ten-year
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lifetime. This represents an energy content of about 5 GJ (gigajoules). In reality, because of the nature of
landfill designs and construction, and the high component of non-putrescibles in the MSW, landfill gas
projects produce only between twenty-five and fifty percent of their theoretical gas potential.

Improved designs and management of landfill facilities have largely overcome the litter, odour and leachate
problems by lining and covering the tip, and by controlling access to trucks or rail wagons delivering wastes
from local land transfer stations where recycling is encouraged. This, however has been at a cost that is
passed on to the users of the facility in terms of a $x/t to deposit the waste material. Minimising the
volumes of materials going into landfills is the goal of many communities by encouraging the use of garden
refuse for mulch and compost, recycling glass and metals, and utilising any combustibles for waste-toenergy projects (such as at

the Rocky Point sugar mill).

However, the majority of wastes currently end up in a

landfill. The aim then should be to avoid methane emissions for both environmental and safety reasons,
since the gas is flammable and has caused explosions in nearby buildings after seeping through the ground
and accumulating.
As well as electricity production, landfill gas can be used in thermal applications, where the gas is burnt to
provide heating for buildings and industrial processes. Whilst this application can be less economic than
electricity production due to transmission costs associated with taking the gas to the desired location, the
use of gas on site (such as the construction of facilities on reclaimed landfill sites) increases the viability.

Thermo-chemical Conversion
Thermal processing of organic waste materials can produce heat or a number of liquid or gaseous fuels.
There are three main options for recovering energy from solid refuse:

by mass burn (combustion or direct incineration) of MSW without pre-treatment,

by production of more or less refined fuels out of the main waste stream either partially processed or more highly processed refuse derived fuels
(RDF) as pellets for later combustion in incinerators (such as rotary kilns) or via new pyrolysis or gasification techniques, and

by the development of new approaches involving the recovery of chemicals such as plastic monomers combined with gasification, pyrolysis,
hydrogenation and/or reforming of the gases and oils produced.

Direct Combustion and Incineration

Also described as mass burn or direct incineration, direct combustion is the burning of waste to produce heat
for cooking, space heating, industrial processes or for electricity generation. Ash from the incineration
process can also be sold to the construction and road building industry to further reduce the amount of
material to be ultimately disposed. Dry wastes are required for direct combustion, and dried sludge from
wastewater can also be used as a feedstock.

Small-scale applications (such as domestic cooking and space heating) can be very inefficient, with heat
transfer losses of 30 - 90% of the original energy contained in the waste. This problem can be addressed
through the use of more efficient stove technology and the use of dry, compact biomass fuels, such as wood.

On a larger scale, solid waste (including agricultural and forestry residues), can be combusted in furnaces to
produce process heat to feed steam turbine generators. Power plant size is often constrained by the
availability of local feedstock and is generally less than 25 - 40 MWe. However, by using dedicated feedstock
supplies, such as the co-location of incinerators at waste disposal sites, the size can be increased to 50 -75
MWe, gaining significant economies of scale.

Figure 10 A typical large MSW combustion plant

(Source: Open University, UK).

Mass burn technology involves the combustion of unprocessed or minimally processed refuse. The major
components of a mass burn facility include:

refuse receiving, handling and storage systems

the combustion and steam generation system (a boiler)

a flue gas cleaning system

the power generation equipment (steam turbine and generator)

a condenser cooling water system; and

a residue hauling and storage system.

Early incinerators were associated with a very negative environmental image and very poor performance.
Concerns over direct combustion, particularly gas and smoke emissions as well as the disposal of ash, means
that direct combustion technologies are now governed by more stringent government scrutiny and approvals,
thereby increasing the establishment cost of these projects. Incinerators are often seen as a solution to the
scarcity of urban landfill sites, rather than as a means for efficient energy recovery from waste streams.

Incineration is a generic term that encompasses a wide range of options that differ markedly in
technology, economics and environmental impact. In countries such as USA, New Zealand, and Australia
where there is land available, a number of incineration schemes have been considered over the last decade
but few so far have found economic acceptance relative to landfills. Present trends indicate a move away
from single solutions (such as mass burn or landfill) towards the integration of more advanced incineration
technologies within overall waste management strategies, based on setting priorities for waste treatment
methods. These include waste minimisation, recycling, materials recovery, composting, biogas production,
energy recovery through RDFs, and residual landfills. This approach favours the integration of incineration
within a range of complementary approaches. In the process, mass burn incineration tends to be replaced by
more specific and efficient techniques such as RDF incineration, gasification or pyrolysis.

The incinerators required by different waste-energy combustion routes (mass burn, RDF, incineration,
gasification, pyrolysis) are markedly different, and so are their costs and environmental impacts. Mass burn
is typically a low efficiency approach. While it eliminates large amounts of refuse, little energy is recovered.
Typically, MSW has an average heat value of 8 to 12 MJ/kg, as compared with 19 MJ/kg for dry wood, 15
MJ/kg for lignite or 22 MJ/kg for steaming coal. Mixed plastics have an average heat value of 33 MJ/kg. Wet
compostable material is in the range of 4 to 6 MJ/kg, while for comparison, natural gas has a value of about
39 MJ/Nm (56 MJ/kg). In its modern versions, the mass burn process is costly as substantial "end of pipe"
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technology must be applied for environmental control of emissions. New technology, however, is being
developed that improves performance and reduces costs.

Figure 11 A typical modern waste-to-energy combustion plant generating electricity and using the waste heat, in this case for
district heating.
(Source: ETSU, UK).

The mass-burn or RDF combustion and boiler system provides the steam for the electricity generation
equipment (steam turbine and alternator). Gas cleaning equipment, a flue stack, and ash storage and
loading area are the other key components of the plant. Because of high corrosion in the boilers, the steam
temperature in these plants is less than 400 C. As a result, their total system efficiency is usually only
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between 12-24%.
Most dry wastes can be used as fuels and burned successfully to produce heat for direct use as process heat
in industry or space heating in buildings. However, municipal and industrial wastes tend to be:

even less homogeneous than wood and crop residues,

have a lower energy density,

differ widely in chemical composition,

may contain a considerable proportion of incombustible material which ends up as a high ash content, and

may contain heavy metals and result in toxic emissions if not combusted properly.

This means in order to burn these dry wastes effectively and in an environmentally acceptable way,
conventional combustion equipment, usually designed primarily for coal combustion, has to be adapted or
more expensive specialised equipment designed.

Refuse Derived Fuels (RDF)

Using raw unprocessed MSW as a fuel is problematic due to the heterogeneous nature of the material, which
varies from suburb to suburb and season to season. It also has a low heat value and high ash and moisture

content. This makes it difficult for plant designers and operators to always provide acceptable pollution free
levels of combustion. Processing of the waste to RDF partially overcomes these problems and the fuel can
then be used more successfully in either chain grate water-tube boilers or in circulating fluidised beds.

Waste with a high organic (carbon) content is suitable for briquetting and pelletising after non-combustible
and recyclable materials have been separated. These processes involve the compaction of the waste at high
temperatures and very high pressures. The organic matter is compressed in a die to produce briquettes or
pellets. It is important to note that using processed waste (where recyclable and non combustible
components have been removed), for power generation will dramatically increase the efficiency of the
waste to energy process, but at an increased cost due to the increased handling of the product.

Figure 12 RDF manufacturing process outline. The product is then compacted or briquetted for use.

Several types of RDFs can be made, such as coarse, fluffy, powdered or densified, depending on the
composition of the refuse, and the technology used. Typically, the MSW, after removal of non-combustibles,
is comminuted by a flail mill. A magnetic separator then removes ferrous materials before screening out the
larger particles. The remainder is shredded into small particles to make the RDF. RDF is burnt in dedicated
boilers or can be co-fired with another fuel such as coal, lignite, or increasingly biomass (like wood or
agricultural residues).

These products have significantly smaller volume than the original waste and thus have a higher volumetric
energy density (VED) making them a more compact source of energy. They are also easier to transport and
store than other forms of waste derived energy. The briquettes and pellets can be used directly on a large
scale as direct combustion feed, or on a small scale in domestic stoves or wood heaters. They can also be
used in charcoal production. RDF pellets have a heat value of around 60% of coal.

High temperature incineration of waste is common in the industrialised regions of Europe, Japan (such as
the Kobe Steel RDF plant in Japan) and the north eastern United States where space limitations, high land costs
and political opposition to locating landfills in communities limit land disposal. In other countries, including

developing countries, relatively low land and labour costs, the lack of high heat value materials in the waste
stream such as paper and plastics, and the high capital cost of incinerators have discouraged waste
combustion as an option. Australia and New Zealand fall somewhere in between these extremes.

Gasification
This process of partial incineration with restricted air supply to create an air-deficient environment, can be
used to convert biomass and plastic wastes into synthesis gas with a heating value 10-15% that of natural
gas. When integrated with electricity production it can prove economically and environmentally attractive,
though it appears better suited for clean biomass, such as wood wastes. The synthesis gas (CO + H) in turn
can be converted to methanol, synthetic gasoline, or used directly as a natural gas substitute and even
blended with it in a gas supply line. Even at a larger scale (say >50MW), such processes are not usually cost
effective compared with using natural gas.

In principle, gasification is the thermal decomposition of organic matter in an oxygen deficient atmosphere
producing a gas composition containing combustible gases, liquids and tars, charcoal, and air, or inert
fluidising gases. Typically, the term "gasification" refers to the production of gaseous components, whereas
pyrolysis, or pyrolisation, is used to describe the production of liquid residues and charcoal. The latter
normally occurs in the total absence of oxygen, while most gasification reactions take place in an oxygenstarved environment.

In a gasifier, the biomass or waste particle is exposed to high temperatures primarily generated from the
partial oxidation of the carbon. As the particle is heated, the moisture is driven off. This could range from
below 10 percent to over 50 percent of the incoming fuel weight. Further heating of the particle begins to
drive off the volatile gases. For wood, this volatile content could be as much as 75 to 80 percent of the total
dry weight. Discharge of these volatiles will generate a wide spectrum of hydrocarbons ranging from CO and
methane to long-chain hydrocarbons comprising tars, creosotes and heavy oils. After reaching about 900 F,
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the particle is reduced to ash and char. In most of the early gasification processes, this was the desired byproduct. In gas generation, however, the char provides the necessary energy to effect the heating and drying
previously cited. Typically, the char is contacted with air or oxygen and steam to generate CO and CO and
2

heat.

There have been some interesting and innovative ideas put forward for using small scale gasifiers to dispose
of special wastes such as clinical waste by mixing it with other biomass sources such as cotton waste using an
entrained flow, down draft gasifier.

The

Texaco Gasification Process

is an example of a proven large scale gasification technology being actively marketed

for a wide range of applications, including MSW processing. The core of the process is a pressurised gasifier
operating at 20 to 80 bar, 1,200 to 1,500 C, and using an oxygen supply. The product is synthesis gas for
which the potential use could be power generation, say in a combined cycle power plant, large scale
cogeneration, or chemical synthesis of a new polymer.
In Germany, Veba-Oel uses a similar gasification approach to produce an oil substitute (40,000 t/yr) followed
by hydrogenation at 300 bar in its oil refinery. Texaco consider that a 100t/day plant (that is about 30,000
t/yr of pre-sorted waste) would cost about $40 million (without the ancillaries and downstream processing
plant) and would be economical in the USA.
Gasifiers can utilise fluidised bed technology in order to increase efficiency, whilst treating a feedstock that
varies in gasification properties. Fluidised bed gasifiers produce a combustible gas that can be fired in a
boiler, kiln, gas turbine or other energy load.

EPI

produced the first fluidised bed gasifier power plant in the

USA and is currently introducing the gasifier approach as an add-on to utility coal -fired power plants to
provide a means to convert a portion of the fuel supply to clean, renewable biomass fuel. In a fluidised bed
gasifier, the bed material can either be sand or char, or a combination of both. The fluidising medium is
usually air, but oxygen and/or steam are also used. The fuel is fed into the system either above or directly
into the bed, depending upon the size and density of the fuel and how its affected by bed air velocities.
During normal operation, the bed media is maintained at a temperature between 1000 F and 1800 F. When a
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fuel particle is introduced into this environment, its drying and pyrolysing reactions proceed rapidly, driving
off all gaseous portions of the fuel at relatively low temperatures. The remaining char is oxidized within the
bed to provide the heat source for the drying and de-volatilising reactions to continue. In those systems
using inert bed material, the wood particles are subjected to an intense abrasion action from fluidised sand.
This etching action tends to remove any surface deposits (ash, char, etc.) from the particle and expose a
clean reaction surface to the surrounding gases. As a result, the residence time of a particle in this system is
on the order of only a few minutes, as opposed to hours in other types of gasifiers.

The large thermal capacity of inert bed material plus the intense mixing associated with the fluid bed enable
this system to handle a much greater quantity and, normally, a much lower quality of fuel. Experience with
EPI's fluidised bed gasifier has indicated the ability to utilize fuels with up to 55% moisture and high ash
contents, in excess of 25%. Because the operating temperatures are lower in a fluidised bed than other
gasifiers the potential for slagging and ash fusion at high temperatures is reduced, thereby increasing the
ability to utilize high slagging fuels.

Fermentation
Organic wastes can be converted to ethanol, the alcohol found in beverages, through bacterial fermentation,
which converts carbohydrates in the feedstock to ethanol. Feedstocks to date have included agricultural
wastes, such as molasses or waste starch, with more recent developments focusing on municipal organics,
including food and sewage sludge. The production of ethanol from cellulose components, such as corn cobs
and rice straw is under development (Australian Business Council for Sustainable Energy, 2005). When certain
species of yeast (most importantly,Saccharomyces cerevisiae) metabolise sugar in the absence of oxygen, they
produce ethanol and carbon dioxide. The overall chemical reaction conducted by the yeast is represented by
the chemical equation: C H O 2 CH CH OH + 2 CO . The vast majority of ethanol is produced by
6

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fermentation and is used as fuel. ( Wikipedia, 2006).

The process of culturing yeast under conditions to produce alcohol is referred to as brewing. Brewing can
produce only relatively dilute concentrations of ethanol in water, as concentrated ethanol solutions are toxic
to yeast. The most ethanol-tolerant strains of yeast can survive in up to about 20% ethanol by volume. In
order to produce ethanol from starchy materials, such as cereal grains, the starch must first be broken down
into sugars. For fuel ethanol, this hydrolysis of starch into glucose is accomplished more rapidly by treatment
with dilute sulfuric acid, fungal amylase enzymes, or a combination of the two. At lower petroleum prices,
ethylene hydration is a significantly more economical process than fermentation for producing purified
ethanol. Fluctuations in petroleum prices, coupled with the uncertainty in agricultural prices, make
forecasting the relative production costs of fermented compared to petrochemical derived ethanol difficult.
In general, the production of fuel alcohols from petroleum is cheaper than fermentation and extraction from
biomass, but this is expected to change as fermentation and extraction processes become more efficient
while petroleum becomes more expensive ( Wikipedia, 2006).

Esterification
Biodiesel can be produced from straight vegetable oil, animal oil/fats, tallow and waste oils. There are three
basic routes to biodiesel production from oils and fats: Base catalysed transesterification of the oil; Direct
acid catalysed transesterification of the oil, and; Conversion of the oil to its fatty acids and then to biodiesel
(Drewette, Dwyer, Farrell & Miller, 2003).
Almost all biodiesel is produced using base catalysed transesterification as this is the most economical
process. It requires only low temperatures and pressures and produces a 98% conversion yield. The
Transesterification process is the reaction of a triglyceride (fat/oil) with an alcohol to form esters and
glycerol. A triglyceride has a glycerine molecule as its base with three long-chain fatty acids attached. The
characteristics of the fat are determined by the nature of the fatty acids attached to the glycerine. During

the esterification process, the triglyceride is reacted with alcohol in the presence of a catalyst, usually a
strong alkaline like sodium hydroxide. The alcohol reacts with the fatty acids to form the mono-alkyl ester,
or biodiesel, and crude glycerol. In most cases, methanol or ethanol is the alcohol used, where methanol
produces methyl esters, and ethanol produces ethyl esters. Potassium hydroxide has been found to be more
suitable for the ethyl ester biodiesel production. Either base catalyst can be used for the methyl ester. A
common product of the transesterification process is Rape Methyl Ester (RME) produced from raw rapeseed
oil reacted with methanol (Drewette, Dwyer, Farrell & Miller, 2003).
Figure 13 shows the chemical process for methyl ester biodiesel. The reaction between the fat or oil and the
alcohol is a reversible reaction so that alcohol must be added in excess to drive the reaction towards the
right and ensure complete conversion. The products of the reaction are the biodiesel itself and glycerol.

Figure 13 The chemical process for methyl ester biodiesel

(courtesy of the Biofuels for Transport by the University of Strathclyde).

A successful transesterification reaction is signified by the separation of the ester and glycerol layers after
the reaction time. The heavier co-product, glycerol, settles out and may be sold as it is or it may be purified
for use in other industries, e.g. the pharmaceutical, cosmetics, etc. (Drewette, Dwyer, Farrell & Miller,
2003). Biodiesel is a less toxic and more biodegradable fuel than is petroleum diesel and is often blended
with petroleum diesel to provide a renewable energy component in the fuel (Australian Business Council for
Sustainable Energy, 2005).

SWERF - Solid Waste to Energy Recycling Facility

Located at Woollongong City Council's Whytes Gully landfill site, a solid waste to energy recycling facility
(SWERF) project was trialed in the early 21st century. The idea behind it was to include:

a pre-treatment process to separate recyclable products from the waste stream leaving the balance as a biomass feedstock or MGW (Municipal
Green Waste);

conversion of this MGW using a gasification process;

electricity generation using a high efficiency gas engine and generator.

Following the development of a synfuels gasifier in 1996, the SWERF concept using the gasifier evolved in
1997 then took 3 years to develop, evaluate and commercialise. The first project at Wollongong was opened
in May 2000. R&D on the gasifier continued in parallel with developing the project so that the gasifier
installed did not incorporate all the latest technical advances. Handling difficulties of the MGW were
experienced due to its widely varying properties. Also, the waste resource is often significantly
contaminated with soil and foreign objects that are not always of organic origin.

The household green waste is received unsorted and sterilised at 140-150 C. It is then mechanically
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separated to remove any ferrous and non-ferrous metal materials, which are then sold. Any other inert
residues are taken to landfill or reprocessed and reused where feasible. The remaining organic fraction is
floated off from the glass and grit contaminants and then shredded. The clean shredded material is
pelletised and the pellets stored ready for gasifying. They are then fed into the advance thermal gasifier.
Primary gasification occurs at around 900 C and the synthesis gas produced is used in gas engines (gensets)
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for power generation. The electricity is sold to the grid and sold as green power. With the cost of the
project becoming uneconomical, and the project was decommissioned in late 2004.

Pyrolysis
Pyrolysis is defined as incineration under anaerobic conditions and is another option for waste-to-energy that
is being investigated. Pilot projects using pyrolysis for plastic wastes, and for mixed municipal solid waste
potentially have very high-energy efficiencies. Combined pyrolysis and gasification systems and combined
pyrolysis and combustion have also been developed and implemented.

Figure 14 Pyrolysis Outline

A number of approaches treat organic waste less through various pyrolytic or cracking processes. The Texaco
approach produces, what are effectively oil substitutes. Examples of such processes include the Conrad
and

Toshiba

processes.

In the USA, the Conrad process has been used to process urban waste to recover material from chemical
polymers. A small-scale unit processing 5000 t/y through a rotary kiln and a liming stage was used to produce
an oil-like product. The process has been banned, however, because the oil substitute was considered by the
authorities to be an energy product and, as such, the overall process was not considered to achieve the
required level of material recovery.

The Toshiba pilot process has a capacity of 250 kg/h over an 11 hour work day. It processes mixed plastics
from Toshiba's factories in Japan to produce a range of oil substitutes. The process is essentially a series of
cracking units. A high density alkaline solution is used to neutralise the chlorine (e.g. from PVC) and some of
the additives that resist heat cracking. A second high-pressure cracking unit boosts reclamation further. No
economic data is yet available, but other Japanese companies are now embarking on similar projects.

Net GHG emissions from waste-to-energy facilities are usually low and comparable to those from biomass
energy systems, because the energy generated is largely from originally photosynthetically produced
materials such as paper, MSW and organic wastes, rather than from fossil fuels. Only the combustion of fossil
fuel-based waste, such as plastics and synthetic fabrics, contribute to net GHG releases. Increased recycling
of these materials will generally produce even lower emissions.

Enersludge

An alternative to incineration or anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge (or dumping it out at sea, which is still
often used as the disposal method, is the innovative Enersludge process, which coverts the sludge into useful
bio-oil. The concept was first promulgated by Prof Bayer in Germany in the early 1980s but it is only recently
that environmental pressures and the economics of other treatment options have made it competitive. The
process was commercialised by Environmental Solutions Ltd. and the first plant installed was the Water
Corporations Subiaco water treatment plant in WA. In essence, this plant uses standard technology, which is
fairly common in Europe, to produce dry pellets from the raw sludge. The pellets have a fertiliser and soil
conditioning value and are free of pathogens, etc. The innovative part of the Enersludge process is the
addition of a pyrolysis unit, which produces gas, char and oil. The gas and char are used to heat the plant,
leaving the bio-oil for revenue earning activities - either for direct sale or for use on site in an internal
combustion engine to produce electricity and offset purchases.

The Water Corporation decided to invest in the process in 1995, which involved risk as it was the first
Enersludge plant to be commissioned in the world. Prior to that, the sludge was treated in 1 primary and 2
secondary covered anaerobic digesters and 12 aerobic digesters. The odours were cause for complaint by
neighbouring properties. Contracts were let in November 1996 and construction began in February 1997. The
plant treats 85 Ml/day from a population of 400,000 from the Perth CBD out to the coast and north of the
Swan River. The Water Corporation Board sought an alternative solution to anaerobic digestion, having
already decided to go with that process at Woodman Point (see above). As it turned out, the capital cost of
both plants were similar and around the $22M mark.

The wastewater enters the plant 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. So back-up systems have to be designed
into the plant. The Enersludge plant is operated and supervised by one person only, requiring two 12 hour
shifts a day. The main aim is to reduce the sludge disposal costs whilst keeping within environmental
constraints. The Water Corporation has adopted the view that, if income can be earned from sales of an
energy product, or costs reduced by on-site power generation, this would be a bonus.

Figure 15 Enersludge process flow diagram

(Source: Environmental Solutions Ltd).

After being macerated, the raw primary sludge is mixed with active sludge that is in excess when being
circulated through the treatment plant so is taken off and thickened by air diffusion. The blend then leaves
the mixer tanks and enters the dewatering centrifuges. Polymers are added to help settle out the solids and
results in a sticky cake material. The dilute centrate fraction is separated off and returned to the
treatment plant and then eventually discharged out to sea.

The alternative option is for the cake to enter the rotary dryer, which is around 2m in diameter and 6m long.
An LPG burner is installed as a back-up system for the dryer. The pellets are graded by size using a shaker
table - returning the too large and too fine portions for reprocessing through the dryer. The bulk density of
the pellets is the quality control measurement and only after several modifications, including a means of
removing hair from the system, was it proved successful.

The Enersludge process converts these pellets into fuel, some of which is used for drying heat. Normally the
pellets are conveyed from the dryer direct to the pyrolysis conversion reactor, although when this is being
maintained up to 50% can be used for fuel in the hot gas generator and the remaining fraction is then sold or

dumped. The Pyrolysis process is two stage, with volatiles being driven of at the first stage and the char
passing from stage 1 to stage 2. The heavy metals present in the sludge act as catalysts. An LPG burner is
installed to maintain the temperature at 400 C. From 1 tonne of pellets, around 300 litres of bio-oil is
o

produced. In the longer term, it is hoped to produce this bio-oil to a sufficient standard in order to run the
plant diesel engine/genset and provide a portion of the sites power demand.
The hot gas generator is a fluidised bed incinerator manufactured by Energy Equipment in Queensland and
designed originally for burning coal dust, but scaled down. Ash from the fluidised bed incinerator includes
the heavy metals that are now immobilised. This can either be landfilled or used in a concrete mix to make
terracotta paving bricks.

The cost of the LPG is around $400,000/yr, double that expected, due to the hot gas generator problems and
natural gas may be a future option (though it will cost $0.25M to connect). The bio-oil is stored in tanks
ready for collection and the ash in a hopper. The process itself has proved to be successful. Like many
demonstration plants, finding the best equipment and adapting it to suit has proved the most difficult
challenge. The ESI company is hopeful that replications will be made and is investigating a German tannery,
as well as markets in South America and Europe. The advantage is that the Enersludge plant can be
retrofitted on the back end of a standard sludge pelleting system.

Combustors
Technology for coal combustion has been adapted for combustion of biofuels and waste products.
Combustion of biomass is more complex than coal combustion, due to the non-homogeneity, variation in
moisture content and composition of the feedstock. Chain-grate boilers and fluidised beds are commonly
used to improve the efficiency of combustion and heat transfer, whilst meeting environmental standards.

Figure 16 A 5.5MW chain grate stoker, shell boiler modified to be able to burn RDF
(Source: ETSU, UK).

Fluidised bed combustion systems use a heated bed of sand-like material suspended (fluidised) within a
rising column of air to burn many types and classes of fuel. This allows oxygen to reach the combustible
material more readily and increases the rate and efficiency of the combustion process. The technique results
in a vast improvement in combustion efficiency of high moisture content fuels, and is adaptable to a variety
of waste type fuels.
In a circulating fluidised-bed boiler, a portion of air is introduced through the bottom of the bed. The bed
material normally consists of fuel, limestone and ash. The bottom of the bed is supported by water-cooled
membrane walls with specially designed air nozzles that uniformly distribute the air. The fuel and limestone
(for sulphur capture) are fed into the lower bed. In the presence of fluidising air, the fuel and limestone
quickly and uniformly mix under the turbulent environment and behave like a fluid. Carbon particles in the
fuel are exposed to the combustion air. The balance of combustion air is introduced at the top of the lower,
dense bed. This staged combustion limits the formation of nitrogen oxides (NOx).

The bed fluidising air velocity is greater than the terminal velocity of most of the particles in the bed and
thus fluidising air elutriates the particles through the combustion chamber to the U-beam separators at the
furnace exit. The captured solids, including any unburned carbon and partially oxidised carbon, are reinjected directly back into the combustion chamber without passing through an external recirculation. This

internal solids circulation process provides longer residence time for fuel and limestone, resulting in good
combustion and improved sulphur capture.

Figure 17 A fluidised bed boiler system

(Source: EPI).

Innovative cyclone combustors with integral ash removal designed into the system also have good potential
for use with RDF and other biofuels. New combustion technologies with higher efficiencies of energy
production and lower emissions are also currently under development. Fluidized bed combustion is a very
efficient and flexible system that can be used for intermittent operation and can operate with solid, liquid,
or gaseous fuels. Despite high operating costs, this low pollution combustion technology is increasingly used
in Japan and has also been used in Scandinavia and the USA.

Recent Processes
Technology is moving fast in the waste to energy area with a number of new approaches or renewed
technologies. The EnerTech

SlurryCarb

process currently under demonstration in the US for example, is based on

a pre-treatment of MSW in water slurry form to facilitate the removal of recyclables. The slurry is then
subjected to high pressure and temperature conditions and partial dewatering to turn it into a higher
calorific value RDF amenable to gasification for combustion in a high-pressure steam boiler or to power a gas
turbine. If successfully demonstrated this process, albeit expensive, will have very low pollution levels and
significantly higher thermal efficiency than mass burns.

The WABIO process developed by Ecoenergy Oy, Espoo, Finland, is bio-thermal waste treatment. Waste is
pre-treated and divided into organic and combustion fractions. The organic fraction is degraded into biogas
and compost matter. The RDF is burned in a specially designed fluidized bed boiler unit. The temperature is
kept below 900C to avoid the formation of thermal NOx and of dangerous slagging compounds that could
reduce the life of the boiler.

The VALORGA process, developed in France and recently adopted by Babcock-Borsig Power, uses a similar
approach. MSW is shredded and sorted mechanically (with manual polishing) to recover glass, metals,
plastics, inerts such as sand and gravel, and remove sources of toxic compounds such as batteries. The
remaining fractions (including hospital waste) are separated into a dry RDF that is directed to a rocking kiln
for steam raising and base load power generation, while the fermentescibles are sent to a proprietary, high
solids (above 45% solids), computer-controlled, high yield methane digester. The methane is used to produce
peak load power. The organic residues are composted to produce a sterile high quality soil conditioner. A
plant processing 120,000 t/yr of fermentescibles could generate 31 GWh of power from the methane
produced and 57,000 t of soil conditioner. The trend in favour of such new energy technology integrated
within an overall waste management strategy focusing on materials and energy recovery is illustrated further
by the recently announced French government's plan to phase out landfills and to develop up to 150 new
MSW conversion facilities.

The

CONVERTECH

technology is directed at the processing of biomass into valuable products, such as chemicals,

reconstituted wood products like panel boards, heat and power. As such, it is not specifically designed to
handle mixed waste. In the long run, in the field of waste management, its main application is in the
treatment of MSW to produce a dry, cleaner burning RDF.

Convertech could potentially offer a solution to monomer recovery from plastics that could prove more
competitive than other approaches. The core Convertech technology reached the pre-commercialisation
stage though the potential chemicals and fuels recovery application, but only reached the preliminary
concept stage before R & D funding in New Zealand ran out. In essence, part of the core Convertech process

for biomass involves venting the volatiles produced by the preheating of the biomass. Through steam
entrained distillation it would be possible to recover the volatile products either as a fuel for process heat or
as valuable products, such as essential oils from Eucalyptus biomass. The steam entrained gases could then
be processed to recover the naphtha-like wax, while the shredded MSW could be processed further in the
superheated steam multiple effect drying stage of the Convertech system to be dried into a stable RDF.
In this context and in a long-term perspective, mention must be made of current trends in R&D on both
biomass and MSW processing, which show a renewed interest in fast pyrolysis and solvolysis approaches. Fast
pyrolysis refers to the heat treatment of particulate organic matter at temperatures between 300C to
1300C under steam or other non-oxidising gases and at pressures ranging from atmospheric to above 30 bar
to produce pyrolytic oils and/or medium to high energy value gases. Solvolysis refers to the use of organic
solvents at 200C to 300C to dissolve the solids into an oil-like product ("bio-oil"). Such products offer the
prospect of gas turbine firing with thermal efficiencies of over 40%, being substantially higher than those
presently achieved with steam turbines powered with current RDF combustors/boilers (typically 25%).
Both approaches can be effectively and efficiently implemented with the core Convertech process. In this
domain Convertech filed a patent application for a novel ultra-fast pyrolytic nozzle reactor that is expected
to achieve high conversion efficiencies to produce either a substitute natural gas or a range of oils from
organic feedstocks, such as biomass MSW, peat, or lignite. Compared with comparable overseas processes,
the Convertech unit was expected to be economic at relatively low scale (such as 10 to 20 odt/h), but the
future of the company is currently uncertain.

Waste to Energy Schemes in Australia

In 2002 emissions from decomposition of landfill, wastewater and waste incineration accounted for 17.59 Gg
(Giga-grams are equivalent to 1 000 tonnes) of national carbon dioxide equivalent emissions 3.4% of national
net greenhouse emissions - almost all of which was methane.

Figure 18 The 2004 fugitive emissions from waste in Australia

(courtesy of the AGO's National Greenhouse Gas Inventory 2004).

Incineration is a term that encompasses a wide range of options that differ markedly in technology,
economics and environmental impact. In countries such as USA, New Zealand, and Australia where there is
land available, while a number of incineration schemes have been considered over the last decade, few so
far have found economic acceptance relative to landfilling. Present trends indicate a move away from single
solutions (such as mass burn or landfill) towards the integration of more advanced incineration technology
within overall waste management strategies, based on setting priorities for waste treatment methods. These
include waste minimisation, recycling, materials recovery, composting, biogas production, energy recovery
through RDFs, and residual landfilling. This approach favours the integration of incineration within a range of
complementary approaches. In the process, mass burn incineration tends to be replaced by more specific
and efficient techniques such as RDF incineration, gasification or pyrolysis.
It is estimated that wastes of approximately 100 PJ of energy content are discarded every year. The Waste
Management Policy of any nation should ensure that, as far as practicable, waste generators should meet
the costs of the waste they produce, and encourage the implementation of the internationally recognised
hierarchy of reduction, reuse, recycling, recovery and residual management of waste.

Municipal Solid Waste

Using existing international projects as a guide, approximately 80% of Australias Municipal Solid Waste is
available for the production of energy. This represents a resource of approximately 50 GJ annually, excluding
the total potential from existing landfill sites. Whilst this is a very small component of Australias total
annual primary energy use (3223 million GJ), it nonetheless is an important resource, especially in the

reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through the displacement of fossil fuels and the use of natural
methane produced by decomposing waste.
The installed electricity generating capacity in 2005 from landfill gas in Australia was about 151.50 MW and
was produced from 42 projects/sites (BCSE, 2005). By using the gas to run gas engines driving generators,
electricity can be produced at a cost of around $40/MWh, making it one of the cheapest sources of
bioenergy. The availability of this resource, however, is substantially constrained due to the limited number
of suitable sites and the need to try and minimise waste production in future by recycling it. As many landfill
sites do not have gas recovery systems, there is significant scope for the expansion of landfill gas utilisation.
However many sites are too small to be viable and it will be unlikely therefore that total capacity will reach
more than 300Mwe.

Figure 19 Some of the existing waste to energy (landfill gas) projects in 2005.
(courtesy of the Australian Business Council for Sustainable Energy.)

Waste to energy facilities offer very substantial opportunities. An example of potential long-term
development of liquid and solid waste streams for materials, chemicals, fuels and power is shown below.

Figure 20 An integrated waste treatment solution for a mixed urban/rural region.

(Source: EECA/Centre for Advanced Engineering 1996 Report).

Liquid and Gaseous Waste

The use of sewage gas for electricity production is increasing in Australia. In 1997, the installed sewage gas
electricity generation capacity was about 25.59 MW and was produced from 12 projects (BCSE, 2005). The
expansion of this area in Australia has been a great boost to the renewable energy generation capacity in
Australia.

Green Waste
Bagasse (sugar industry waste) currently represents about 2% of Australias total primary energy consumption
(Bush, Harris & Ho Trieu 1997). The steam produced is used to drive sugar cane mills, for process heating,
and for grid-connected electricity production. The sugar mills in Queensland, NSW and WA have a combined
capacity of about 481.12MW (BCSE, 2005). Increasingly, bagasse is being utilised in cogeneration systems and
by using more efficient conversion systems and additional fuel inputs, this could easily treble.
Wood (including forestry residue) represents 2.4% of Australias total primary energy consumption (Bush,
Harris & Ho Trieu 1997). About 75% of the heat energy produced from this wood is consumed as firewood in

the residential sector, with about 22% of homes using fuelwood for primary heating (DPIE 1997). The
remaining heat energy is used in the wood products, paper and food industries. There is also 28.50 MW of
electricity being produced from the combustion of wood waste from 3 projects in 2005. (BCSE, 2005).

Further Information
Information regarding renewable energy resources, technologies, applications, systems designs and case studies.

Below are some useful links for additional information, and a list of references.
Environmental Solutions
Australian Biomass
The Veggie Van:

From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank

Rocky Mountain Institute

CLP Envirogas
The Septic Information Website:

Inspecting, Designing and Maintaining Residential Septic Systems.

WA Water Corporation
New South Wales Department of Mineral Resources
Kobe Steel Refuse Derived Fuel

in Japan

Future Energy Solutions

Energy Products of Idaho

: Gasifiers and fluidised bed systems for waste to energy systems.

National Biofuels Program

US Department of Energy

Alternative fuels data center

Toshiba

US Department of energy

PKA Pyrolysis and Gasification Process

EnerTech

Waste Conversion and Energy Technology

Babcock-Hitachi

References
ABC 2001, Natural Capitalism (Online) http://www.abc.net.au/science/slab/natcap/default.htm (Accessed 1
December 2008).

Australian Greenhouse Office 1998, "Greenhouse Challenge: Waste " (Online)

http://www.environment.gov.au/settlements/challenge/publications/factsheets/fs-waste.html (Accessed 1
December 2008 -

no longer available).

Australian Energy News 1997, "Methane from Coal Seams Becoming a Valuable Resource" Issue 3, April 1997
Australian Energy News 1997, "Environmental Solutions International Solves a Rather Stinky Problem" Issue 3,
April 1997
Australian Energy News 1998, "The SWERF at the 'Gong will be Pumpin'" Issue 10, December 1998
(BCSE) Australian Business Council for Sustainable Energy 2005, Waste to energy a guide for local
authorities (Online) http://www.bcse.org.au/docs/Publications_Reports/WasteToEnergy%20Report.pdf
(Accessed 1 December 2008 -

no longer available).

Bush, S., Harris, J. & Ho Trieu, L. 1997, Energy 1997 projections- Australian energy consumption and
production, ABARE Research Report 97.2, Canberra.