CASE STUDY ON WASTE TO ENERGY

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WASTE TO ENERGY
Waste-to-energy (WtE) or energyfrom-waste (EfW) is the process of creating energy in the form of electricity or heat from the incineration of waste source. WtE is a form of energy recovery. Most WtE processes produce electricity directly through combustion, or produce a combustible fuel commodity, such as methane, methanol, ethanol or synthetic fuels.

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WASTING RESOURCES

Solid waste: any unwanted or discarded material we produce that is not a liquid or gas.

Municipal solid waste (MSW): produce directly from homes. Industrial solid waste: produced indirectly by industries that supply people with goods and services.

Hazardous (toxic) waste: threatens human health or the environment because it is toxic, 4/24/12

Solid and Hazardous Waste

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Rapidly Growing E-Waste from Discarded Computers and Other Electronics

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Core Case Study: E-waste An Exploding Problem

Electronic waste, e-waste: fastest growing solid waste problem Composition includes

High-quality plastics Valuable metals mainly copper Toxic and hazardous pollutants mainly air and water runoff

The U.S. produces almost half of the world's e-waste but only recycles 4/24/12

Recycling E-waste

Burn houses in distance and smoke where computer parts from the United States are burned. China 2008

Migrant workers from Hunan and Szechuan provinces cracking open charred components to remove the copper at the burn village. Guiyu, China. May 2008

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Ghana 2009. Burning of plastics to get to metals.

Core Case Study: E-waste An Exploding Problem

What should be done?

Recycle E-cycle Reuse Prevention approach: remove the toxic materials

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Solutions: Reducing Solid Waste

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Refuse: to buy items that we really dont need. Reduce: consume less and live a simpler and less stressful life by practicing simplicity. Reuse: rely more on items that can be used over and over. Repurpose: use something for another purpose instead of throwing it away.

Discarded Solid Waste

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Biosolid digesters

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Waste-to-energy incinerators

Incineration with energy recovery is one of several waste-to-energy (WtE) technologies such as gasification and anaerobic digestion. Incinerators reduce the mass of the original waste by 8085% and the volume (already compressed somewhat in garbage trucks) by 95-96% . The highly toxic fly ash must be safely disposed of. This usually involves additional waste miles and the need for specialist toxic waste landfill elsewhere. 87 MSW Incinerators
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No plans to build more

Solutions: A Waste-toEnergy Incinerator with Pollution Controls

Fig 21-13 4/24/12

Benefits
Reduced waste Reduced use of non-renewable resources Reduced utility company energy due to renewable and energy-efficient systems Production efficiencies due to design and purchase of state of the art machinery Improved healthand wellbeing of personnel through engagement, improved facilities and machinery

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Conclusions
Recycling is better than incineration in terms of climate change. Waste incinerators are being sold to the public and local authorities as a source of green electricity, yet the fact that they produce fossil fuel derived greenhouse gases is rarely mentioned. This research shows that, currently, electricityonly incinerators produce 33 per cent more fossil fuel derived CO2 per unit energy generated than a gas fired power station
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Resources are limited, Let us conserve them.

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