Municipal Solid Waste Incinerators with Energy Recovery

4 Municipal Solid Waste Incinerators (with Energy Recovery) 

Municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWIs) are a robust treatment method for very different mixed waste types of different origin. The typical MSWI handles waste of a calorific value between 9 and 13 MJ/kg. They are the key technology for the treatment of integral household waste in countries such as Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany. Some 7% of this integral household waste consists of plastics. Treatment of 

MSWIs can accept virtually any mixed waste stream as long as it falls within its calorific window of 9-13 MJ/kg (hence including material containing regular plastics and PVC content). Furthermore, the heavy metal content should not be excessive (since this can make the quality of the slag not suitable for re-use) and the material should be destructible at the rather low incineration temperature of MSWIs (850 °C). Some waste will not be efficiently destroyed. 

Many LCAs have been performed for MSWIs (e.g., a. 16). One can calculate the emissions and other environmental aspects of MSWIs for a given waste on the following basis  

Netherlands (high ground water level, soft soil), a price of some 50 per tonne is enough to realise a controlled landfill (including aftercare systems). The gate fee of mechanical recycling processes depends very much on the type of plastic and type of mechanical recycling and cannot be specified here. 

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It is estimated that only abont 50% of the plastics prodnced in Western Emope each year are available for collection and recychng. Of this collectable waste plastic, abont 15%, representing abont 3 million tonnes, is recycled in Western Emope. A fnrther 23% of the plastics available for collection is incinerated with other wastes, mainly as municipal solid waste and the recovery of the plastic in snch cases is via energy recovery. The remainder of the plastic waste is disposed of, mainly to landfill. Table 11.1 shows the main indnstrial/commercial and mnnicipal waste sectors which prodnce the waste plastic and the rentes for recycling, energy recovery and disposal [1]. 

The amount and rate of plastic waste and resource recovery is shown in Table 26.2 [5], Total plastic waste discharged reached 9900 000 t in 2002. The amount of municipal solid waste exceeded that of industrial waste in 2001 and the difference between them tends to increase. Although the amount of feedstock recycling reached 450 000 t in 2002, it still accounts for only 8.9% of municipal solid waste (MSW). Large amounts of waste plastics are treated by incineration with or without energy recovery both in MSW and industrial waste. 

Thus, the current installed capacity for MSW-burning modular incinerators with heat recovery ( 500 tons/day) probably represents about IT, of the solid waste collected from municipalities with populations ranging from 25,000 to 100,000. (For comparison purposes, note that the total capacity for energy recovery from municipal solid waste in the United States should be roughly equivalent to about 570 of the total waste collected by 1980.)... 

The recycling of plastics waste is eonsidered with respect to energy recovery through incineration. It is claimed that burning solid municipal waste could produce nearly 10% of Europe s domestic electricity and heat and conserve resources by replacing, for example, over half of current coal imports to Western Europe. The potential for power from waste plastics and examples of energy from waste in action are described. 

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