WASTE TO ENERGY RECOVERY

PLANT:
NARENDRA KUMAR
 Contents:
 Introduction
 Global and Indian Scenario
 Sources of Generation and waste classification
 Methods for waste to treatment
 Technical aspects: Process and principle
 Impact on environment and health
 References:
 Introduction
 Waste to Energy(WTE) Waste energy works by burning waste at a very
high tempr,heat is then transferred ,transformed into energy. the steam then
drive a turbine-creates electricity and surplus heat which can be used for
district heating and cooling. Also recovered clean water, valuable metals and
construction material from the waste.

 Residual waste to energy is most economical compare to solar, tidal, wind,

Hydro, Thermal and nuclear.

 According to the confederation of European waste to energy

plants(CEWEP) Europe treats 50 million ton of waste at WTE plant,
generates an amount of energy that can supply electricity for 27 million
people and heat for 13 million people.
 Worldwide 130 million tonnes of MSW combusted annually in over 600 wte
facilities that produce electricity & steam and recovered metals for recycling.

1ton MSW can generate up to 750 kWh. Ash 10% of original volume.
 Global and India scenario
 Apprx.100000MTonnes of waste is generated per day world wide, production
of this waste is expected to be approximate 27 billion tonnes/year by 2050,
1/3 of this waste which will come from Asia( major countries China+ India)
 Current status of MSW waste generation in urban India is 62million tonnes
annually , >80% of this waste is disposed of indiscriminately at dump yard in
an unhygienic manner.
 Waste generation rate in Urban India will become 0.7kg per person per day by
2025, 4-6 times higher than in 2012. Current-0.2-0.45kg/person/day on an
avg.
 This waste has a potential of generating 439MW of power,1.3million cubic
meter of biogas per day or 72 MW of electricity from Biogas and 5.4 million
metric tonnes of Compost.
 Morover, 62 million tonnes annual generation of MSW requires 3,40,000
cubic meter of landfill space everyday (1240 hectare per year) if continues to
be dumped.
 Continues..
MSW generation Current trends:
 CPCB and municipal authority have so far only set up of 349 compost plant,

210 Biomethanation plants, 59-RDF plants, 25 -waste to energy plants in the

country in which many of them above are not even working)
 68% of the MSW generated in country is collected in which 28% is treated by

municipal authority merely 19% of the total waste generated is currently

treated, remaining waste is disposed off at dump sites/landfill sites untreated.
Current status:
 Source of generation and waste classification
Solid Waste Types
 Municipal solid waste commonly known as trash or garbage, refuse or
rubbish is a waste type consisting of everyday items we consume and discard.
 It predominantly includes food wastes, yard wastes, containers and product
packaging and other inorganic wastes from residential, commercial,
Institutional and industrial sources.
 Organic waste –food scrapes, wood, rubber, canteen or cafeteria wastes, news
papers, tires, furniture etc.
 Municipal solid waste does not include industrial wastes, agriculture waste and
sewage sludge.
 Biodegradable waste-food and kitchen waste, green waste, paper (can be
recycled);
 Recyclable material-Paper, glass bottles, cans, metals, certain plastics, etc.;
 Inert waste- dirt, rocks, debris, C & D waste
 Composite waste-waste plastics, tetra packs, waste closing
 Domestic hazardous waste & toxic waste :
Medication or drugs,
E-waste,
paints,
chemicals,
light bulbs or fluorescent tubes,
spray cans,
fertilizers and pesticides and their containers,
batteries,
shoe polish materials.,

 Waste is solid substances generated as a result of human activities, and, being no longer of
value for the respective economic, physiological or technological process, are removed
from it.

Waste to energy recovery plant

 waste-to-energy plant converts solid waste into electricity and/or heat - an ecological,
cost-effective way of energy recovery. The energy plant works by burning waste at high
temperatures(850) and using the heat to make steam. The steam then drives a turbine that
creates electricity.
.
 MSW Treatment failure in India

MSW Treatment failure at Vijaywada_AP Instrument failure

 Major Problem with Waste Landfill
Soil contamination-due to Soil acidity
Water contamination-Ground and
surface water contamination by leachate
generated by waste dump .
Air contamination-due to release of to GHG
by landfill.(CO2,CH4,N2O,HFC,SF6,PFC)
Impacts of rapid urbanization
Health effects of open dumping of waste

Severe illnesses, including encephalitis and dengue fever, have been attributed to
disease-carrying mosquitoes originating from scrap tire piles.
 Illegal dumping can impact proper drainage of runoff, making areas more

susceptible to flooding when wastes block ravines, creeks, culverts, and

drainage basins.
In rural areas, open burning at dumpsites containing chemicals may contaminate

wells and surface water used as sources of drinking water.

 Dumpsites that caught fire, either by spontaneous combustion or, more

commonly.
Rodents, insects, and other vermin attracted to open dumpsites may also pose

health risks. The health risks associated with illegal dumping are significant for
rag pickers and residents living nearby
Areas used for illegal dumping may be easily accessible to people, especially

children, who are vulnerable to the physical (protruding nails or sharp edges) and
chemical (harmful fluids or dust) hazards posed by wastes.

 (Source: Illegal Dumping Prevention Guidebook. US EPA. EPA905-97-001)

 Current mechanism for waste disposal
1. Segregation at source-Reduce, Reuse, Recycles,

2. Collection and transportation

3. Treatment and Energy Recovery-Waste which can be heated, converted processed

into gas, fuel and electricity.

4. Scientific land filling for inert, hazardous and Toxic.

Criteria for selection of WTE technology

5. Waste characterization-type ,quantity and waste content.

6. Environment and health-CO2 control, DXNs control, Emission control, landfill

control.( Air, water and land pollution overall)

7. Economy-cost control, profit and growth, relative capital cost, O &M.

8. Energy and efficiency – energy recovery, high efficiency, utilization and safe.

Power generation- Efficiency(50-60% based on VOC)

3 E’s Technology selection Criteria

• Emissions control
Environment • Minimize Landfill

 Cost Vs. Benefit

Economy  Social & Financial

 Energy recovery
Energy  Efficiency

Selection of waste to energy technology is based on scale of waste to be processed,

existing emission norms, energy recovery and economic factors
 Technology
Waste to energy recovery
 Stock pallet waste- furnaces-Burn- Heat-steam-Turbine-Electricity,
Components: furnaces, turbines, heat exchanges boilers, generators etc.
 The technology options available for processing the Municipal Solid
Waste(MSW)are based on either Bioconversion or thermal conversion

 The Bioconversion process is applicable to the organic fraction of wastes, to form

compost or to generate biogas such as methane (waste to energy) residual
sludge(manure).

 Various technologies are available for composting such as aerobic, anaerobic &
vermi-composting.

 The thermal conversion technologies are incineration with or without heat

recovery, pyrolysis and gasification, plasma pyrolysis and pelletization or
production of Refuse Derived Fuel(RDF).
WTE Technology
 Technologies for conversion of WtE

Concept Process Energy carrier Application

Incineration Flue gas/steam Heat

Conventional/ Syngas Electricity
Thermo chemical Plasma gasification
Pyrolysis Syngas & Bio-oil Hydrogen

Biomethanation Biogas Chemicals

Waste Biochemical
Fermentation Ethanol Transport fuel

Crushing, compressing, Feed stock for

Mechanical pelletizing Refuse derived fuel
thermal process

Waste to energy technologies recover energy from organic fraction of waste using either
biochemical or thermo chemical processes
 Incineration
• Incineration involves combustion of
waste at very high temperatures in the
presence of excess oxygen
• Results in the production of ash, flue gas
and heat energy
• Incineration is feasible for unprocessed
or minimum processed refuse besides for
the segregated fraction of the high
calorific waste
Advantages Challenges
• Immediate reduction in volume and weight • Management of dioxins and furans formed
by about 90% and 75% respectively in incineration
• Stabilization of waste
• Energy recovery

Incineration is a maturated technology for processing and energy recovery from waste
 Gasification
• Gasification is thermo chemical conversion of
carbonaceous fraction of waste into syngas (CO,
H2, CH4 and CO2) in oxygen deficient
environment and at high temperatures (650-
1600°C)
• Inorganic fractions present in the waste
converted to ash and can be safely land filled
• Syngas can be used for variety of applications
such as generation electricity, Bio fuels,
chemicals, hydrogen
Advantages Challenges
• Immediate reduction in volume and weight • Higher initial cost compared to incineration
• Environment friendly • Skilled labour is required
• Energy efficient

Gasification is more efficient and environmental friendly technology than incineration

for conversion waste into energy
 Plasma gasification
• Plasma is an ionized gas where the atoms of the
gas have lost one or more electrons and have
become electrically charged
• Waste introduced into the plasma field, where
intense heat breaks down the waste molecules
into simple compounds
• Waste converted into fuel gases with high
calorific value and inert solid slag in the
temperature range 1200 – 2000 0C

Advantages
Challenges
• Immediate reduction in volume and weight • Expensive compared to
• Converts waste to inert vitrified slag conventional gasification
• Suitable for low calorific value waste • Skilled labor is required
Plasma gasification is an emerging waste to energy technology for processing of variety
of waste such as MSW, medical waste, agro waste etc.
 Pyrolysis
• Pyrolysis is thermal decomposition of organic
fraction of waste in the absence of oxygen
• Pyrolysis is an endothermic process and usually
required heat is generated by burning of some
of the product gas in separate heater
• Pyrolysis produces three components:
 Fuel gas: A mixture of fuel gases
 Fuel oil: Consisting of tar, pitch, light oil etc.
 Char along with the inert materials in the
waste feed
Advantages Challenges
•
Immediate reduction in volume and weight & • Pyrolysis oil is unstable & needs
less space requirement
further processing
• Stabilization of waste
• Energy is distributed in 3 fractions
• Easy to operate
Pyrolysis of waste plastics is an upcoming technology for conversion plastics to either
liquid fuels or chemicals
 Hydrolysis and fermentation
• First step in conversion of cellulosic
fractions of waste to ethanol is hydrolysis
of cellulose and hemicellulose into simple
sugars using chemicals / enzymes
• Second step is fermentation of sugars into
ethanol followed by distillation
• Lignin is by a product in this process

Advantages Challenges
• Generation of drop-in bio-fuels • High capital and O & M Cost
• Stabilization of waste • Convert only cellulosicand hemi cellulosic
• Energy recovery fractions
• Conversion of polysaccharides to sugars is
complex
Major challenges in hydrolysis and fermentation are integration of hydrolysis and
fermentation into single step, and availability of low cost enzymes –Biochemical process
 Refuse Derived Fuel(RDF)
• RDF is produced by removing recyclables and noncombustibles from waste
and producing a combustible material by shredding, compressing and
pelletization of remaining waste
• RDF is easily storable, transportable, and more homogeneous fuel for either
steam/ electricity generation or as alternate fuel in industrial
furnaces/boilers
• RDF may also be utilized in co-processing in cement kilns, co-combustion in
coal fired power plants

Advantages Challenges
• High calorific value of the waste • Suitable for the areas where large
amount of combustible waste is being
generated
 RDF process flow scheme

RDF is usually prepared in the form of pellet/ briquette/ fluff from dry high calorific
value combustible wastes
 W TO E Divisions
 Handling and storage of waste: Refuse Bunkers, pallets, moving
cranes, storage units, blown air curtains to prevent odor outside.

Waste incineration: Furnace, fire grates, air blowers, Boilers with
HE and Air condensers, closed loop of water supply feeding station.
 Flue gas treatment unit: Gas cooler, gas scrubber, electrostatic
precipitator, bag filters, addition of lime and activated carbon
process, DeNOx reactor, emission control for residue(APCR)
 Fly ash Chamber and Bottom ash chamber:
 Steam Turbine : low pressure high speed turbines, generators,
electricity tower etc.
 District heating system: part of steam used for community heating.
 Leachte treatment unit: waste water and wet flue gas treatment.
 Magnetic tray: On the bottom of furnace, recycled metals, vitrified
glass and other metals
Simplified process diagram
Glimpse at WTE plant
ENVIRONMENTAL ADVANTAGES
 Renewable resource
 Reduces landfills- volume reduction by 90% only

residue goes to landfill

 Protects clean water supplies
 Reduces air pollution and smog-advanced pollution

control of gas emissions and flue gases.

 Reduces ground and surface water pollution
 Reduces greenhouse gases

◦ Carbon dioxide
◦ Methane
 References:
 Illegal Dumping Prevention Guidebook. US EPA. EPA905-97-001)
 Global status report 2016 on 22 nd conference of parties prepared by GABC(UNFCCC)
 World green building trends summit 2016 on CO2 emissions.
 CPCB.
 MNRE
 CPHEEO manuals on solid waste management, MOUD, New Delhi
 NGT Guidelines for sold waste dumping and disposal.
 MOEFCC reports on global climate change.
 ADB DPR on Thane Municipal corporation and Vishakapattnam.
 Solid waste management rules, Center for Environment and Development, Thiruvananthapuram
(CED),MOUD.

 Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Biomass Program: Biomass Basics, November 2006,
http://www.eere.energy.gov/biomass.
 National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Biomass Research, November 2006, http://www.nrel.gov/biomass

 World energy council , 2016

THANK YOU FOR YOUR
KIND ATTENTION !!