Generation of energy from thermal processing of municipal solid waste in the United States

Presented herein is an indepth study of the generation of energy from the thermal processing of municipal solid waste. The information contained in this paper is based upon surveys conducted from 1975 through 1980 with the assistance and cooperation of the Operations Committee, Solid Waste Processing Division, American Society of Mechanical Engineers. The material contained in this paper represents a significant update of material presented previously. Information is presented for each of the facilities in the United States from which energy from the thermal processing of solid waste is being, can be, or will be generated. A review of the operational problems that have been encountered to date is presented for each facility. The data contained in this paper will demonstrate that energy can not only be generated from the thermal processing of municipal solid waste in the United States but more importantly that it is being consistently and reliably generated in numerous plants operational over a period of years. What is even more important, with increasing fuel costs, is that the energy generated is being utilized or sold. The design capacity of the thermal processing facilities reviewed in this paper could displace the need for approximately 1,000,000,000 gallons ormore » 20,000,000 barrel of oil per year, whereas if all of the municipal solid waste generated in the United States could be disposed of by thermal processing methods described in this paper, more than 12 trillion gallons per year or 300 million barrels of imported fuel oil could be saved. This paper is limited to a review of full scale municipal type solid waste processing facilities in the United States which have at least reached the final contract stage. Excluded is any review or discussion of laboratory scale processes or modular type incinerators.« less