Guidelines for cofiring refuse-derived fuel in electric utility boilers

Technical Report · Wed Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1988

OSTI ID:6299753

Fiscus, D E ^[1]; Wolfs, K E; Ege, H D; Kimber, A ^[2]; Joensen, A W ^[3]; Savage, G M ^[4]

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1. Midwest Research Inst., Kansas City, MO (USA)
2. Burns and McDonnell Engineering Co., Kansas City, MO (USA)
3. Iowa State Univ. of Science and Technology, Ames, IA (USA)
4. Cal Recovery Systems, Inc., Richmond, CA (USA)

Since the 1970s, nine electric utilities in the United States have cofired refuse-derived fuel (RDF) with coal or oil in electric utility boilers. Of these, only four continue to cofire RDF in 1988, the others having discontinued operations for a variety of reasons, mostly economic. In order to document this experience and provide a basis for planning future RDF cofiring projects, EPRI and the US Department of Energy cosponsored the development of the guidelines for RDF cofiring in electric utility boilers. The guidelines address the procedures for evaluating proposed RDF cofiring projects, RDF specifications and preparation, impact of RDF cofiring on power plant performance and operation, design criteria for RDF handling and other equipment, environmental control systems, capital and O M cost estimates, economic analysis, and the breakeven RDF value to the utility. The economic analysis examples suggest that the value of RDF to the utility is only a fraction of the value of the fuel being replaced. This is because the incremental fuel savings derived from RDF cofiring are at least partially offset by the incremental capital and O M costs. In order to maximize RDF value, it is important to select units for RDF cofiring that have at least 15 years of remaining life, operate at high capacity factor, are of sufficient size to consume the available RDF stream, and do not exhibit boiler slagging and fouling, electricstatic precipitator, or unit derating problems while burning coal or oil. 71 figs., 70 tabs.

• Research Organization: Electric Power Research Inst., Palo Alto, CA (USA); Midwest Research Inst., Kansas City, MO (USA); Burns and McDonnell Engineering Co., Kansas City, MO (USA); Iowa State Univ. of Science and Technology, Ames, IA (USA); Cal Recovery Systems, Inc., Richmond, CA (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: EPRI
• OSTI ID: 6299753
• Report Number(s): EPRI-CS-5754-Vol.2
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
014000 -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Combustion
09 BIOMASS FUELS
098000 -- Biomass Fuels-- Waste Management-- (1990-)
20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS
200108* -- Fossil-Fueled Power Plants-- Fuels-- (1980-)
BOILER FUELS
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COAL
COCOMBUSTION
COMBUSTION
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
ECONOMICS
ELECTRIC UTILITIES
ENERGY SOURCES
ENGINEERING
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
MATERIALS
MUNICIPAL WASTES
OPERATION
OXIDATION
PERFORMANCE
POWER PLANTS
PUBLIC UTILITIES
RECOMMENDATIONS
REFUSE DERIVED FUELS
SPECIFICATIONS
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
WASTES