Waste To Energy

Waste-to-energy (WtE) or energy-from-waste (EfW) is the process of generating energy

usually in the form of electricity or heat from the controlled combustion of solid wastes. WtE is a type of energy recovery in which the energy from waste is harnessed and stored and ultimately, recycled as electricity.

Incineration

Incineration is the most common form of the waste-to-energy process and is defined as the combustion of organic material like waste and the recovery of the resulting energy. Recent studies however, have discovered that incineration is very harmful to the environment. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development or OECD has headed the campaign against incineration by having its member countries make the process require certification from their respective government. Those who want to put up and operate incineration facilities must first pass a very strict emission standards test. Such policy lead to the new generation of incineration does not plant, from those who recovered energy nor materials to those of today that can reduce the original volume of the waste down to 4-5 %.

Incineration however, even after much advancement, still has not solved most of the dangers it poses to the environment. Problems about harmful by-products such as fine particulate, heavy metals, trace dioxin and acid gas emissions though greatly reduced, still exist. Toxic fly ash and incinerator bottom ash are other problems that come along with incineration. The acidic pollutions produced during incineration has enough potential to turn rain into acid rain. Many also argue that incineration destroys resources that can still be recycled. The slow efficiency ratio of only 14-28 % is also a big issue being raised by incineration antagonists.

Incineration is a very old technique of turning municipal solid wastes into energy. Waste is burned and the resulting heat is used to boil water which then produces steam that powers the generators resulting in the production of electricity.

Improvements

Much research and development has been devoted to the betterment of incineration. Today, the problem about pollution has been considerably reduced through the utilization of lime scrubbers on smokestacks. The limestone mineral is a base with a pH level of 8, thus it neutralizes the acidic properties of the smoke at is passes through. Still, many argue that the acid reduction is still not enough and can still pose a threat to the environment.

Other WtE Technologies

With the many problems regarding incineration, alternative WtE processes have been sought and many methods of converting waste to energy without direct combustion have been developed. Many of the said technologies have the potential to generate more energy from the same amount of fuel than in incineration. Such is the result of the segregation of the converted fuel from its corrosive components, leading to higher combustion temperatures being achieved. Other WtE technologies can be divided into two main categories, non-thermal and thermal technologies.

Non-thermal Technologies

Anaerobic Digestion (Biogas rich in methane)

Fermentation Production

Mechanical Biological Treatment

Thermal Technologies:

Gasification

Thermal Depolymerization

Pyrolisis

Plasma Arc Gasification

Biosphere Technology

Among all the other WtE methods, the gasification process of biosphere technology is said to have the most potential. It involves the heating of solid wastes in extremely hot but controlled temperatures inside a very oxygen-limited environment. The resulting steam is then used to generate clean green electricity. Biosphere gasification produces almost no harmful by-products and is very cost-efficient in terms of initial investment and operating expenses. The United Nations is heading the campaign to make biosphere technology the worlds primary means of generating power.

by: Darewin Amio Ocampo

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