A Summary of Standards and Practices for Wet Waste Streams Used in Waste-to-Energy Technologies in the United States
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
This study identifies governmental policies and regulations that apply to the handling and disposal of wet waste resources across the United States, and it qualitatively relates those regulations to the feasibility of using the wastes in advanced waste-to-energy (WTE) processes. The wet WTE resources considered in this analysis include (1) food waste, (2) fats, oils and grease (FOG), (3) sewage sludge, and (4) animal manure. Research has explored the technical feasibility of utilizing these resources through advanced WTE technologies such as hydrothermal processing techniques, variations on anaerobic digestion (e.g., arrested methanogenesis, anaerobic membrane reactors, and various pre- and post-treatment strategies), and microbial electrosynthesis for producing biofuels and bioproducts (DOE 2017); however, little work has considered the policy and regulations on these wastes that may or may not prohibit their use as feedstocks. The study analyzes regulations pertaining to the management and disposal of wet waste material to develop an initial understanding of how these regulations may dictate the materials' potential as a feedstock for advanced WTE technologies. It reveals that the regulatory environment for each of the four materials is extremely variable among geographic areas as a result of differences in state and local regulations, with federal standards establishing baseline management criteria. Federal laws within the Code of Federal Regulations define standard management criteria for wastes, yet they allow states and localities to develop their own permitting and regulatory criteria. In general, state programs are required to implement federal standards but also can develop stricter or wider scoping regulations if they desire. The regulations on the WTE feedstocks considered herein directly relate to the way producers of the material decide how they are to be managed and disposed. Except for several types of FOG, all the feedstocks here are conventionally viewed and handled as waste materials. With maturation of conversion technologies that can fully utilize these materials in advanced WTE processes, the market value of these wastes could be realized. In this developing WTE industry, we see a synergy of regulatory programs and early stage markets controlling how the wastes are managed. In areas of the country where these materials are used in mature WTE technologies (e.g., anaerobic digestion and incineration), there exists a demonstrated example of how the materials potential can be further realized while maintaining regulatory compliance. The regulations outlined in this report should not be viewed as obstacles to circumnavigate. These rules are intended to prevent any environmental harm coming from the mismanagement of waste materials. As markets for WTE feedstocks develop further, regulatory control of the disposal chain is likely to experience some degree of change. Because no WTE technology is perfectly efficient, waste material must still be disposed of post-conversion and is still to be disposed of per regulatory standards. This post-WTE material is likely to differ in composition, volume, and moisture content from the original waste, which will therefore require revisions to any existing disposal permits a facility may hold.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Transportation Office. Bioenergy Technologies Office
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308
- OSTI ID:
- 1570962
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/JA-6A20-71440
- Journal Information:
- Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 117
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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