ABSTRACT
The principal means for integrated management of municipal solid wastes (MSW) are recovery of materials (recycling), recovery of energy by combustion, bioconversion to fuel and compost, and landfilling of the remaining residues. This study examined the recovery of energy by using the combustible components of MSW as a fuel in a properly designed combustion reactor and thermoelectric plant to generate electricity and process steam. Despite the heterogeneity of materials in MSW, the mean hydrocarbon structure can be approximated by the organic compound C6H10O4. A formula is derived that allows the prediction of the heating value of MSW as a function of moisture and glass/metal content and compares well with experimentally derived values. The performance of a leading Waste-to-Energy plant in the U.S. that processes about 0.9 million tons of MSW per year and produces a net 620 kWh/ton is examined. The results of this study indicate that energy recovery from MSW can reduce considerably the amount of land consigned annually to landfilling, reduce environmental impacts and decrease, to a small extent, dependence on fossil fuels.
