Waste as a Renewable Source of Energy: Current and Future Practices

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karsten Millrath ◽  
Nickolas J. Themelis
Keyword(s):  
Research And Development ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
District Heating ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Waste To Energy ◽  
Renewable Source ◽  
Energy Current ◽  
Reuse Options ◽  
The U.S

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) has been recognized by several states as a renewable source of energy. Worldwide, about 130 million tons of MSW are combusted annually in waste-to-energy facilities that produce electricity and steam for district heating and also recover metals for recycling. While being linked to environmental pollution prior to the implementation of Maximum Available Control Technology (MACT) regulations, Waste-to-Energy (WTE) was recently named one of the cleanest sources of energy by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). However, the WTE industry often faces resistance and preconceptions based on past experience rather than current performance. Due to economic considerations that do not include environmental benefits, most of the U.S. MSW still ends up in landfills despite the fact that for every ton of MSW landfilled greenhouse gas emissions increase by at least 1.2 tons of carbon dioxide. While implemented research and development strategies focused on emissions, there is still a tremendous need for more efficient yet durable combustion technologies including flue gas recirculation and oxygen enrichment, environmentally and economically competitive reuse options for WTE residues, and also public education. The importance of WTE in the universal effort for sustainable development and its need for research and development resources has led to the formation of the Waste-to-Energy Research and Technology Council. Its principal goal is to improve the economic and environmental performance of technologies that can be used to recover materials and energy from solid wastes. This paper provides an overview of the current worldwide WTE practices, predominant technologies, and current research for advancing WTE as a renewable source of energy in the U.S. and elsewhere.

scholarly journals Status of Catalytic Combustion R&D for the Department of Energy Advanced Turbine Systems Program

1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. B. Fant ◽  
G. S. Jackson ◽  
H. Karim ◽  
D. M. Newburry ◽  
P. Dutta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Research And Development ◽  
Catalytic Combustion ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Turbine Engines ◽  
Gas Turbine Engines ◽  
Development Status ◽  
Catalyst Durability ◽  
Operational Issues ◽  
The U.S

This paper discusses some of the advanced concepts and research and development associated with implementing catalytic combustion to achieve ultra-low-NOx emissions in the next generation of land-based gas turbine engines. In particular, the paper presents current development status and design challenges being addressed by Siemens Westinghouse Power Corp. for large industrial engines (> 200 MW) and by Solar Turbines for smaller engines (< 20 MW) as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Advanced Turbine Systems (ATS) program. Operational issues in implementing catalytic combustion and the current needs for research in catalyst durability and operability are also discussed. This paper indicates how recent advances in reactor design and catalytic coatings have made catalytic combustion a viable technology for advanced turbine engines and how further research and development may improve catalytic combustion systems to better meet the durability and operability challenges presented by the high-efficiency, ultra-low emissions ATS program goals.

Accessibility, Connectivity, and Captivity: Impacts on Transit Choice

2003 ◽  
Vol 1835 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward A. Beimborn ◽  
Michael J. Greenwald ◽  
Xia Jin
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Mode Choice ◽  
Mode Selection ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Choice Data ◽  
Mode Split ◽  
Land Information System ◽  
Transit Connectivity ◽  
Service Factors ◽  
The U.S

Travelers can be classified into two groups: choice users and captive users. Choice users select transit or automobile service when they view one option as superior, whereas captive users have only one travel option. Surprisingly, little is known about captivity effects on mode split models. This research examines the way transit service factors such as accessibility and connectivity relate to mode captivity and mode choice. Data for this investigation come from the Portland, Oregon, 1994 Household Activity and Travel Diary Survey, the Regional Land Information System for the Portland area, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fuel economy database, and the U.S. Department of Energy. Individual trip data were segmented into transit captive, automobile captive, and choice users based on information about private vehicle availability, transit connectivity, and distance from a transit stop. Traditional transit mode split models are compared with models that segment users into choice and captive groups. It was found that traditional models underestimate the variation in mode choice for captive users, while overestimating the attractiveness of transit for choice users. These results indicate that better transit forecasts can result if accessibility and connectivity are used to help identify captive users. Additionally, among choice transit users, differences in travel times between automobile and transit modes do little to influence mode selection, while walk access to transit has more effect than previously thought.

Energetic and Environmental Analysis of a New Cogenerative Configuration for the Waste to Energy Plant of Piacenza

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo De Servi ◽  
Lucia Rigamonti ◽  
Stefano Consonni
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
District Heating ◽  
Back Pressure ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Waste To Energy ◽  
Assessment Methodology ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment Methodology ◽  
Energy Plant

This study aims at estimating the energy and environmental performances of a new cogenerative configuration of the waste to energy (WTE) plant in Piacenza. At present, the plant is authorized to treat 120,000 t/y of waste, but this limit does not represent the full treatment capacity of the facility. To exploit the plant potential and, at the same time, to reduce total equivalent emissions of the WTE process, a cogenerative configuration has been proposed. In this new scenario a back pressure turbine would be installed in parallel to the existing one, in order to supply heat to the district heating network of Piacenza and the total amount of waste treated per year by the facility would be increased to 134,100 t. The increase of 14,100 t should be satisfied by industrial and commercial waste, which would otherwise go to landfill. To compare the cogenerative scenario with the current situation, the environmental impact for the two cases has been evaluated by means of a life cycle assessment methodology. The results of the analysis show that the new configuration can ensure significant energy and environmental benefits.

Emissions Performance of a Novel Combustor Burning Shredded Wood

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Lindsey ◽  
M. Sawyer ◽  
A. Schmidt ◽  
P. Aubrey ◽  
A. Webster
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Management Program ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Waste To Energy ◽  
Biomass Combustion ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Time Data ◽  
Waste Streams ◽  
Biomass Waste

The Air Force Research Laboratory, Airbase Technologies Division (AFRL/RXQ) is engineering and evaluating the Transportable Waste-to-Energy System (TWES). This trailer mounted system will convert military base waste and biomass waste streams to useful heat and power. The Department of Energy (DOE) Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) is a TWES funding partner. The first stage of the project is a suspension-type combustor (furnace). The furnace has been built and tested. A key feature of the furnace system is its unique patented combustion coil design. The design is intended to maximize ablative heat transfer by increasing particle residence time near a radiant ignition source. The innovative features of the design are targeted at ensuring that the system can be highly fuel-flexible to convert a variety of biomass and other waste streams to energy while demonstrating very low emissions. In 2008, the unit underwent two days of emissions stack testing using established Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) testing protocols. During the testing, extensive real-time data were also collected. This paper presents the data and corresponding analysis of the recent emissions testing performed while utilizing dry wood chips as a control fuel. Detailed emission comparisons are presented using publicly available information from commercial units and from a similarly sized experimental system for small biomass combustion. Key combustion efficiency factors, such as carbon monoxide emissions and nitrogen oxide emissions are presented. The authors also provide commentary on the results for next generation units and the use of this mode of energy conversion for small scale systems.

scholarly journals Repurposing Reverse Osmosis Concentrate as a Low-Cost Thermal Energy Storage Medium

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 31-40
Author(s):  
Reza Baghaei Lakeh ◽  
◽  
Christopher Salerno ◽  
Ega P. Herlim ◽  
Joseph Kiriakos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Storage ◽  
Reverse Osmosis ◽  
Thermal Energy ◽  
Thermal Energy Storage ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Salt Content ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Surface Discharge ◽  
The U.S

The reject of the reverse osmosis water treatment process (aka brine, concentrate, ROC) is a mixture of salts that are dissolved in high salinity water. The ROC is classified as an industrial waste by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and can face regulatory limitations on disposal. State-of-the-art of ROC disposal includes deep-well injection, surface discharge to rivers, discharge to the ocean, and evaporation ponds. In this study, the feasibility of using Reverse Osmosis Concentrate as a low-cost Thermal Energy Storage (TES) medium is explored by a techno-economic analysis. The normalized cost of TES (cost per unit volume of stored thermal energy) is estimated through a series of cost analyses and is compared to the cost targets of the U.S. Department of Energy for low-cost thermal energy storage. It was shown that the normalized cost of TES using ROC salt content is in the range of $6.11 to $8.73 depending on ROC processing methods.

A National Perspective: Establishing and Implementing a Characterization Program in the U.S. for Remote-Handled Transuranic Waste

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Nelson ◽  
Alton D. Harris
Keyword(s):  
Dose Rate ◽  
Waste Disposal ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Surface Dose ◽  
Radiation Dose Rate ◽  
Characterization Methods ◽  
Dose Rates ◽  
Transuranic Waste ◽  
The U.S

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is responsible for waste management from nuclear weapons production and operates the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) for permanent disposal of defense-generated transuranic waste (TRU), as authorized by Congress in 1979. Radioactive waste in the U.S. has historically been managed in one of two ways depending on its penetrating radiation dose rate. Waste with surface dose rates above 200 millirem/hour (0.002 sievert/hour) and waste that has been managed remotely (remote-handled). In 1992, Congress passed the WIPP Land Withdrawal Act, which created the regulatory framework under which DOE was to operate the facility, and authorized disposal of waste up to 1,000 rems/hour (10 Sievert/hour). Subsequently, DOE submitted applications to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), at the Federal level, for certification to operate WIPP, and to the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED), at the State level, for a hazardous waste permit. Both applications described the characterization methods that DOE proposed to use to ensure only compliant waste was shipped to WIPP. No distinction was employed in these methods concerning the surface dose rate from the waste. During the applications review, both regulatory agencies came to the conclusion in their approval that DOE had not demonstrated that remote-handled transuranic (RH-TRU) waste could be adequately characterized. Therefore, WIPP was only granted approval to begin waste disposal operations of waste with surface dose rates less than 200 millirem/hour (0.002 sievert/hour) — or contact-handled transuranic (CH-TRU) waste. Emplacement of CH-TRU waste in WIPP began March 26, 1999. However, WIPP was designed for disposal of both CH- and RH-TRU waste, with the RH-TRU waste in canisters emplaced in the walls of the underground disposal rooms and CH-TRU waste in containers in the associated open drifts. Therefore, as disposal rooms filled with CH-TRU waste, the space along the walls for RH-TRU waste disposal was lost. This made removal of the regulatory prohibition on RH-TRU waste a very high priority, and DOE immediately began an iterative process to change the two regulatory bases for RH-TRU waste disposal. These changes focused on how DOE could rely on CH-TRU characterization methods for adequate characterization of RH-TRU waste. On January 23, 2007, the first shipment of RH-TRU waste was finally received at WIPP. The revised EPA certification and NMED permit now both consider all waste characterization methods to be equally effective when applied to either CH- or RH-TRU waste, as DOE maintained in the original applications over 10 years ago.

Field Evaluation of High Voltage Electron Beam Technology for Treating VOC-Contaminated Groundwater. Part I: VOC Removals and Treatment Costs

1998 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Franklin Alvarez ◽  
Kirankumar Topudurti ◽  
Michael Keefe ◽  
Chriso Petropoulou ◽  
Tim Schlichting
Keyword(s):  
South Carolina ◽  
Electron Beam ◽  
Organic Compounds ◽  
High Voltage ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Innovative Technology ◽  
Beam System ◽  
The U.S

AbstractAs part of the Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation program, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency evaluated the High Voltage Environmental Applications, Inc. (HVEA), electron beam (E-beam) technology at the U.S. Department of Energy Savannah River Site (SRS) in Aiken, South Carolina. This technology irradiates water with a beam of high-energy electrons, causing the formation of three primary transient reactive species: aqueous electrons, hydroxyl radicals, and hydrogen radicals. Target organic compounds are either mineralized or broken down into low molecular weight organic compounds, primarily by these species. The E-beam system used for the evaluation is housed in an 8- by 48-foot trailer and is rated for a maximum flow rate of 50 gpm. During two different periods totaling 3 weeks in September and November 1994, about 70,000 gallons of SRS M-area groundwater contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) was treated with the E-beam system. The highest removal efficiencies (REs) observed for unsaturated chlorinated VOCs in groundwater - trichloroethene (TCE), tetrachloroethene (PCE), and cis-1,2-dichloroethene (1,2-DCE) - were >99, 99, and > 91%, respectively. REs ranged from 68 to > 98% for 1,1,1-trichloroethane (1,1,1-TCA), 1,2-dichloroethane (1,2-DCA), chloroform, and carbon tetrachloride (CCl

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