Economic Feasibility of Drying Municipal Solid‐Waste Combustion Residue
Publication: Journal of Energy Engineering
Volume 116, Issue 2
Abstract
Incineration of municipal solid waste (MSW) is increasing in many parts of the world. Waste incineration creates an ash residue that must be disposed of, typically in a solid‐waste landfill. The ash is often water‐quenched after incineration and may contain up to 50% moisture by weight. This moisture increases the weight of the ash sent to the landfill and the leachate load placed on the landfill's leachate collection system. In this paper, current literature on MSW ash is reviewed, current ash handling practices are outlined, and the economic feasibility of ash‐moisture reduction schemes are investigated. Electric heating of the quenched bottom ash is shown to be an economically feasible scheme for moisture reduction. For current cost levels, the net yearly benefit may be as high as $1,200,000 for a typical 500 tons per day (TPD) plant. Further research and pilot plant studies are necessary to determine the optimum dryer type and configuration for maximum benefit.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Brown, R. C., and Peterson, R. L. (1970). “An investigation of radioactivity in incinerator ash.” J. Occup. Med., 12(5), 173–177.
2.
Brunner, P. H., and Monch, H. (1986). “The flux of metals through municipal solid waste incinerators.” Waste Mgmt. Res., 4, 105–119.
3.
“Energy from wastes.” (1988). Power, Mar., W1–W36.
4.
Kamiya, A., and Ose, Y. (1987). “Mutagenic activity and PAH analysis in municipal incinerators.” Sci. Total Environ., 61, 37–49.
5.
Karasek, F. W., et al. (1987). “Determination of organic compounds leached from municipal incinerator fly ash by water at different pH levels.” Anal. Chem., 59, 1027–1031.
6.
Lisk, D. J. (1988). “Environmental implications of incineration of municipal solid waste and ash disposal.” Sci. Total Environ., 14, 39–66.
7.
Lund, M. A. (1988). “Refuse incinerator ash disposal.” Waste Mgmt. Today, 1(2), 28–30.
8.
Murphy, T. J., et al. (1985). “Polychlorinated biphenyl emissions to the atmosphere in the Great Lakes region. Municipal landfills and incinerators.” Environ. Sci. Tech., 19(10), 942–946.
9.
Rafay, T. (1982). “Dry ash handling system for power plants.” J. Energy Engrg., ASCE, 108(3), 129–142.
10.
Sawell, S. E., Bridle, T. R., and Constable, T. W. (1988). “Heavy metal teachability from solid waste incinerator ashes.” Waste Mgmt. Res., 6, 227–238.
11.
“Special section, boilers and auxiliary equipment, Fundamentals of steam generation.” (1987). Power, Oct., B2–B121.
12.
Tay, J. H. (1988). “Energy generation and resource recovery from refuse incineration.” J. Energy Engrg., ASCE, 114(3), 107–117.
13.
Tchobanoglous, G., et al. (1977). Solid wastes: Engineering principles and management issues. McGraw‐Hill, Inc., New York, N.Y.
14.
Tong, H. Y., and Karasek, F. W. (1986). “Comparison of PCDD and PCDF in fly ash collected from municipal incinerators of different countries.” Chemosphere, 15(12), 1219–1224.
15.
“Trend toward dry disposal and ash sale continue.” (1986). Power, Nov., 170–172.
16.
Walsh, P., O'Leary, P., and Cross, F. (1987). “Residue disposal from waste‐to‐energy facilities.” Waste Age, May, 57–65.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Energy Engineering
Volume 116 • Issue 2 • August 1990
Pages: 87 - 97
Copyright
Copyright © 1990 ASCE.
History
Published online: Aug 1, 1990
Published in print: Aug 1990
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.