Comprehensive Evaluation of Repowering Systems for Utilizing Waste Heat from Small Scale Garbage Incineration Plants

Abstract

This paper evaluates two proposed repowering systems together with a conventional repowering system. A power generation system utilizing waste heat produced by a garbage incineration plant (GIP), which treats 45 t/d of garbage, was taken as an objective power generation system to be repowered. As the conventional repowering system (Sys-C), a gas turbine system with waste heat boiler was adopted. In the proposed system 1 (Sys-P1), temperature of the low temperature steam generated at the GIP is raised in the gas combustor by burning fuel, and used to drive a gas turbine generator. Hence, required power for compressing the air becomes remarkably small and expected to be high efficient compared with Sys-C. In the proposed system 2 (Sys-P2), the low temperature steam generated at the GIP is superheated by using regenerative burner and used to drive a steam turbine generator, and hence making steam condition optimal becomes easy. Various basic characteristics of the three repowering systems were estimated through computer simulation, such as repowering efficiency, energy saving characteristics, and amount of CO2 reduction. It was shown that Sys-P1 and Sys-P2 were both superior to the conventional repowering system Sys-C in the all characteristics, and Sys-P1 to Sys-P2 in repowering efficiency, and that Sys-P2 to Sys-P1 in energy saving characteristics and CO2 reduction effect. It has also been estimated that all the repowering systems are economically feasible, and that the proposed systems Sys-P1 and Sys-P2 are both superior to the Sys-C in the three economical indices of unit cost of power, annual gross profit and depreciation year.