The Case for Increasing the Global Capacity for Waste to Energy (WTE)

Recent efforts to generate renewable energy on a local scale and distributed basis have resulted in renewed interest in converting municipal solid waste (MSW) to energy. In addition, U.S. MSW generation has increased from about 1.1 tons per capita in 1990 to 1.3 tons in 2002, and worldwide, MSW generation is projected to double by 2030. Furthermore, many countries have established very strict limits on materials suitable for landfilling such as completely banning organic material from entering landfills. Typical MSW contains approximately 2800 kWh of heating content and is capable of yielding nearly 700 kWh of electricity in modern waste to energy (WTE) facilities. The composition of MSW has been demonstrated to be about 66% biogenic, thus today's modern WTE facilities avoid 30 million tons per year of CO2 equivalent by avoiding CO2 from fossil fuel power plants and methane from landfills. Finally, research data shows that regions employing WTE facilities have a higher recycling rate. Therefore, increasing the usage of WTE facilities worldwide has the potential to satisfy a large part of the global energy demand while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and providing a safe waste disposal option. This paper will describe the current situation worldwide with some focus on the U.S. Some description and discussion on the dominant technology, mass burn, as well as other next generation technologies will be included. While all WTE emissions are well below regulations, particular emphasis will be placed on emission reduction schemes and potential for future advancement such as optimal pre-shredding, oxygen enhancement and conversion of MSW to fuels.