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U.S. Department of Energy
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Economics of co-firing waste materials in an advanced pressurized fluidized-bed combustor

Book ·
OSTI ID:287949
;  [1]; ;  [2]
  1. Dept. of Energy, Morgantown, WV (United States). Morgantown Energy Technology Center
  2. Gilbert/Commonwealth, Inc., Reading, PA (United States)

A study was undertaken to investigate the technical and economic feasibility of co-firing a PFBC with coal and municipal and industrial wastes. Focus was placed on the production of electricity and the efficient disposal of wastes for application in central power station and distributed locations. Issues concerning waste material preparation and feed, PFBC operation, plant emissions, and regulations are addressed. The results and conclusions developed are generally applicable to current and advanced PFBC design concepts. Wastes considered for co-firing include municipal solid waste (MSW), tire derived fuel (TDF), sewage sludge and industrial de-inking sludge. Conceptual designs of three power plants rated at 250 MWe, 150 MWe and 4 MWe were developed. The 4 MWe facility was chosen to represent a distributed power source for a remote location and designated to co-fire coal with MSW, TDF and sewage sludge while producing electricity for a small town. Heat and material balances were completed for each plant and costs determined including capital costs, operating costs and cost of electricity. With the PFBCs operation at high temperature and pressure, efforts were centered on defining feeding systems capable of operating at these conditions. Since PFBCs have not been tested co-firing wastes, other critical performance factors were addressed and recommendations were provided for resolving potential technical issues. Air emissions and solid wastes were characterized to assess the environmental performance comparing them to state and federal regulations. This paper describes the results of this investigation, presents conclusions on the key issues, and provides recommendations for further evaluation.

OSTI ID:
287949
Report Number(s):
CONF-950522--; ISBN 0-7918-1305-3
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English