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Title: Study of the feasibility of a regional solid waste derived fuel system in the Tennessee Valley Authority service area. PRS-8

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:7339633

An evaluation of the feasiblity of the economics of establishing a resource recovery system in the TVA region is presented. This system would consist of collecting, transporting and processing of the municipal solid waste and then using or selling the products from the process. Two basic alternatives are investigated for using the energy in municipal solid waste: (1) processing municipal solid waste and burning the fuel fraction with coal in a conventional TVA power boiler modified for that purpose and (2) converting municipal solid waste to a synthesis gas with subsequent conversion to fuel grade methanol for use in TVA's gas turbines modified to accept such a fuel. The study shows that with a dump fee of approximately $5.90 per ton of refuse paid by the producer of the refuse, 14,000 tons per week of solid waste, out of a total of 108,000 TPW produced in the TVA region, can be collected, transported, processed, and the fuel fraction burned at the TVA steam plants considered in the economic evaluation in this report, but environmental standards will be violated. Also the study shows that with a dump fee of $11.00 per ton of refuse, 27,000 TPW of solid waste can be collected, processed to methanol, and burned in TVA's gas turbines without impacting generating costs of the TVA, or violating environmental standards.

Research Organization:
Tennessee Valley Authority, Chattanooga (USA)
OSTI ID:
7339633
Report Number(s):
NP-21281
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English