Waste to Energy

Information on Waste to Energy

Infinis Plant -
landfill gas
plant Bletchley

Energy can be
recovered from
waste by various
(very different)
technologies. It
is important
that recyclable
material is
removed first, and that energy is recovered from what remains, i.e. from
the residual waste. Energy from waste (EfW) technologies include:

Combustion in which the residual waste burns at 850C and the

energy recovered as electricity or heat
Gasification and pyrolysis, where the fuel is heated with little
or no oxygen to produce syngas which can be used to generate
energy or as a feedstock for producing methane, chemicals, biofuels,
or hydrogen (see also landfill gas and sewage gas )
Anaerobic digestion , which uses microorganisms to convert organic
waste into a methane-rich biogas that can be combusted to generate
electricity and heat or converted to biomethane. This technology is
most suitable for wet organic wastes or food waste. The other output
is a biofertiliser.

Harnessing energy from waste has many benefits:

It helps the UK reduce its dependency on energy imports

It contributes towards reducing carbon emissions and meeting
renewable energy targets
When used for electricity generation, these technologies have a
steady and controllable output, sometimes referred to as providing
baseload power
It has very good sustainability and greenhouse gas saving
characteristics, as it makes further use of materials that have
already been discarded.

For more detailed information on EfW technologies and their current use
in the UK, please download our EfW leaflet .
Gasification and Pyrolysis
Gasification, as applied to solid waste materials and biomass, is a
relatively new application of this technology that is increasingly being
used for the disposal of wastes. It is a thermo-chemical process in
which wastes, including their biomass content is heated, in an oxygen
deficient environment to produce a low-energy gas containing hydrogen,
carbon monoxide and methane. The gas can then be used as a fuel in a
turbine or combustion engine to generate electricity.

Gasifiers fuelled by fossil sources such as coal have been operating

successfully for many years, but they are now increasingly being
developed to accept more mixed fuels, including wastes. New gas clean-up
technology ensures that the resulting gas is suitable to be burnt in a
variety of gas engines, with a very favourable emissions profile.
Gasifiers can operate at a smaller scale than an incineration plant, and
can also be provided in modular form to suit a range of different scales
of operation. A number of British companies are leading in this emerging
technology.

Pyrolysis is another emerging technology, sharing many of the

characteristics of gasification. With gasification partial oxidation of
the waste occurs, whilst with pyrolysis the objective is to heat the
waste in the complete absence of oxygen. Gas, olefin liquid and char are
produced in various quantities. The gas and oil can be processed, stored
and transported, if necessary and combusted in an engine, gas turbine or
boiler. Char can be recovered from the residue and used as a fuel, or
the residue passed to a gasifier and the char gasifed.

Please find more detailed information in the Gasification & Pyrolysis leaftlet
. To find out more about this technology sector group, please email
Frank Gordon, Senior Policy Analyst on fgordon@r-e-a.net .