Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Evaluation of energy recovery from municipal solid waste in oil-fired power plants

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:7096942

Five alternative systems are evaluated for recovering energy from municipal refuse in oil-fired power plants: (1.) preparation and supplemental firing of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) with oil in a utility boiler originally designed for coal firing; (2,3) preparation and 100% firing of RDF or municipal solid waste (MSW) in a dedicated waterwall incinerator and utilization of steam to drive a dedicated turbine generator unit; and (4,5) preparation and 100% firing of RDF and MSW in a dedicated waterwall incinerator and integration of steam into the power plant steam cycle. The reference station is the Arthur Kill Station owned by the Consolidated Edison Company of New York and located in Staten Island, a borough of New York City. A resource recovery plant flowsheet is suggested for producing a low-ash and low-moisture content RDF, based on use of a trommel screen ahead of the shredder and a thermal drier fired by rejects from the process. Municipal ownership of the resource recovery and waterwall incinerators and utility ownership of the power plant and turbine generator are assumed. Utility payments for steam or RDF are set to keep the power generation cost constant. Municipal tipping fees are set to make up the difference between the revenues required to operate the resource/energy recovery plant and the credits for sale of RDF or steam to the utility. From the municipal viewpoint, the lowest cost alternative is 100% firing of MSW in a dedicated waterall incinerator, driving a separate turbine generator unit.

Research Organization:
Stone and Webster Management Consultants, Inc., New York (USA)
OSTI ID:
7096942
Report Number(s):
NYSERDA-81-27; ON: DE83900048
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English