Energy from municipal solid waste: A comparison with coal combustion technology

Abstract

The conversion of municipal solid waste (MSW) to energy can conserve more valuable fuels and improve the environment by lessening the amount of waste that must be landfilled and by conserving energy and natural resources. The importance of utilizing MSW was recognized in the 1991 U.S. National Energy Strategy, which sought to “support the conversion of municipal solid waste to energy.” One route to utilizing the energy value of MSW is to burn it in a steam power plant to generate electricity. Coal has long been the predominant source of energy for electricity production in the U.S.; therefore, a considerable science and technology base related to coal combustion and emissions control can be, and has been, applied with substantial benefit to MSW combustion. This paper compares the combustion of coal and MSW in terms of fuel characteristics, combustion technology, emissions, and ash utilization/disposal. Co-combustion of coal and MSW is also discussed. MSW issues that can be addressed by research and development are provided. The major environmental issues that designers of MSW combustion systems have had to address are emissions of trace organic compounds, particularly polychlorinated dioxins and furans, and trace elements such as mercury, lead, and cadmium. Emission of trace organics is generally the result of a poorly designed and/or operated combustion system; modern MSW systems use good combustion practices that destroy organic compounds during the combustion process. Proper control of air/fuel mixing and temperature, and avoidance of “quench” zones in the furnace, help to ensure that potentially harmful organics are not emitted. Computer codes and other design and troubleshooting tools that were developed for coal combustion systems have been applied to improve the performance of waste-to-energy systems. Trace element emissions from both coal and MSW combustion result primarily from vaporization of elements during the combustion process. Most of the trace elements that are vaporized condense on fly ash as the combustion products cool downstream of the furnace and can be effectively controlled by using an efficient particulate removal device. However, volatile elements, particularly mercury, are emitted as a vapor. Several mechanisms are available to capture mercury vapor and some are in use. The development of satisfactory control technology for mercury is a topic currently of high interest in coal burning. The potential for leaching of trace elements and organics from MSW residues after disposal raises issues about the classification and management of ash. Results of laboratory leaching tests, especially for lead and cadmium, have not been consistently supported by field experience. Careful interpretation of the available test protocols is needed to make sure that residues are properly managed. Because of the large scale of coal-fired boilers for electricity production, co-firing of MSW with coal in such boilers could consume large quantities of waste. Several short-term demonstrations have shown that co-firing is feasible. The issues involved in co-firing are emissions of trace elements, trace organics, and acid gases; boiler slagging and fouling; and long-term effects, such as corrosion and erosion of boiler tubes. Areas where research and development has contributed to improved MSW combustion include (a) the formation mechanisms of polychlorinated dioxins/furans, especially low-temperature, catalytic mechanisms, (b) methods of combustion air distribution in incinerators that result in better combustion and reduced emission of organic compounds, (c) the use of gas reburning to control NOx and reduce emission of organic compounds, (d) practical methods for removing organic compounds and mercury from MSW flue gas, (e) the performance of electrostatic precipitators in removing MSW fly ash, particularly when co-firing MSW and coal in existing coal-fired boilers, and (f) burning MSW in fluidized beds or of pulverizing refuse-derived fuel and firing it in suspension-fired, pulverized coal boilers.