RD & D priorities for energy production and resource conservation from municipal solid waste

Technical Report · Sat Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1992

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/10190801· OSTI ID:10190801

This report identifies research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) needs and priorities associated with municipal solid waste (MSW) management technologies that conserve or produce energy or resources. The changing character of MSW waste management and the public`s heightened awareness of its real and perceived benefits and costs creates opportunities for RD&D in MSW technologies. Increased recycling, for example, creates new opportunities for energy, chemicals, and materials recovery. New technologies to control and monitor emissions from MSW combustion facilities are available for further improvement or application. Furthermore, emerging waste-to-energy technologies may offer environmental, economic, and other advantages. Given these developments, DOE identified a need to assess the RD&D needs and pdodties and carefully target RD&D efforts to help solve the carbon`s waste management problem and further the National Energy Strategy. This report presents such an assessment. It identifies and Documents RD&D needs and priorities in the broad area of MSW resource . recovery, focusing on efforts to make MSW management technologies commercially viable or to improve their commercial deployment over a 5 to l0 year period. Panels of technical experts identifies 279 RD&D needs in 12 technology areas, ranking about one-fifth of these needs as priorities. A ``Peer Review Group`` identified mass-burn combustion, ``systems studies,`` landfill gas, and ash utilization and disposal as high priority areas for RD&D based on cost and the impacts of further RD&D. The results of this assessment are intended to provide guidance to DOE concerning possible future RD&D projects.

• Research Organization: National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States); ICF, Inc., Fairfax, VA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-83CH10093
• OSTI ID: 10190801
• Report Number(s): NREL/TP--431-4982; ON: DE92016406
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
320604
ANAEROBIC DIGESTION
COMBUSTION
COMPOSTING
LANDFILL
MATERIALS RECOVERY
METHANE
MUNICIPAL WASTE
MUNICIPAL WASTE MANAGEMENT
MUNICIPAL WASTES
RECYCLING
RESOURCE CONSERVATION
RESOURCE RECOVERY
SANITARY LANDFILLS
SOLID WASTES
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PRODUCT UTILIZATION
WASTE TO ENERGY