alternative disposal technologies - northumberland …€¦ · · 2013-06-10•provide an...
TRANSCRIPT
Presentation Outline
• Purpose
• Background
• Thermal Treatment Technologies
– Conventional
– Advanced
– Emerging
• Biological & Mechanical Treatment Technologies
• Open Discussion
Purpose
• Provide an overview of Alternative Disposal
Technologies (ADTs)
• Discuss different types of ADTs and the use of
the technologies
• Gather input to be considered during completion
of the County’s Long-Term Waste Management
Master Plan (WMMP)
Background
• Long-Term WMMP initiated in December 2011
• Stantec released Interim Technical Report in May 2012
• Report includes, among other things, a discussion on the
County’s waste disposal needs and residual waste
disposal alternatives
• With approval to expand existing landfills County
expected to consume landfill capacity by 2023
• One disposal option available to the County is to
consider ADTs
• Note no ADT technology can eliminate the need for
landfill in Ontario
Thermal Treatment Technology
• Thermal treatment covers a range of
technologies that extract energy from waste.
• Thermal Treatment can play a number of
important roles in an integrated waste
management system including:
– Reduction in the volume of waste
– Recovery of energy from the solid waste stream
– Recovery of minerals and chemicals which then can be
reused or recycled
– Destruction of contaminates that may be present
Introduction
Thermal Treatment Technology
• In most jurisdictions, thermal treatment is
applied to manage the remaining waste stream
after source-separated diversion of recyclables
and organics.
Introduction
Thermal Treatment Technology
• Single-stage combustion or mass burn
incinerations is the most common type of Waste-
to-Energy (WTE) technology used worldwide
Conventional Combustion
Conventional WTE Approach
Thermal Treatment Technology
Conventional Combustion
• Is a well-established technology developed over 100
years ago to generate energy from municipal solid waste
(MSW).
• Hundreds of facilities in operation worldwide.
• There are currently 7 facilities in operation and one
under construction in Canada (processing greater than
25/tpd).
• Majority of WTE facilities in Europe utilize mass burn
incineration.
• Mass burn incineration requires minimal pre-processing
of MSW.
Thermal Treatment Technology
Conventional Combustion Conceptual Overview of Durham/York Energy Centre
Thermal Treatment Technology
• Advanced Thermal Treatment technologies include
gasification, plasma arc gasification and pyrolysis
Advanced Thermal Treatment
Advanced Thermal Treatment WTE Approach
Thermal Treatment Technology
• Gasification is the heating of waste to produce a burnable gas (syngas)
which is composed of a mix of approximately 85% hydrogen and carbon
monoxide.
• Syngas produced can be used in a second thermal combustion stage to
generate heat and/or electricity.
• There are three (3) primary types of gasification technology used to treat
waste, namely fixed bed, fluidized bed and high temperature gasification.
• Technology recently been using MSW as feedstock.
• Process generally requires a fairly homogeneous feedstock.
• Generally higher operating and capital costs in comparison to conventional
combustion facilities.
• Tends to have higher net costs given less energy is recovered from the
waste stream.
Gasification
Thermal Treatment Technology
Gasification Conceptual Overview of a High Temperature Waste Gasifier
Source: Thermoselect – High Temperature Recycling, 2003. Accessed 2012.
Thermal Treatment Technology
• Plasma Arc Gasification uses an electric current that
passes through a gas (air) to creates plasma which
gasifies waste into syngas.
• Currently, plasma arc gasification is not commercially
proven to treat MSW.
• Limited data available to assess operational success and
MSW feedstock in regards to technical reliability.
• Two technologies which are currently being tested in
Canada are the Alter NRG Process and the Plasco
Process.
Plasma Arc Gasification
Thermal Treatment Technology
Plasma Arc Gasification – Plasco Process
Plasco Trail Road Facility, Ottawa Source: Ottawa Sun, Dec 14, 2011
Thermal Treatment Technology
Plasma Arc Gasification – Plasco Process
Source: Plasco Energy Group Inc. http://www.plascoenergygroup.com/our-technology/the-plasco-process/ Accessed 2012.
Thermal Treatment Technology
• Pyrolysis is the thermal decomposition of feedstock at a
range of temperatures in the absence of oxygen.
• Pyrolysis applies indirect thermal energy to process the
waste.
• End product is a mixture of solids (char), liquids
(oxygenated oils) and syngas (CO2, CO, CH4, H2).
• The pyrolysis oils and syngas can be utilized to produce
energy.
• The solid residue is a combination of non-combustible in-
organic material and carbon.
• No reliable data available on capital and operating costs.
Pyrolysis
Thermal Treatment Technology
Pyrolysis – Compact Power Pyrolysis Process
Source:
Thomas Malkow. 2004.
In Waste Management 24 (2004)
Thermal Treatment Technology
Pyrolysis
• Waste preparation and pre-processing required.
• Difficulties in accepting variable waste streams.
• Pyrolysis generally takes place at lower
temperatures than used for gasification,
resulting in potentially less volatilized pollutants
requiring management.
Emerging Thermal Treatment Technology
• There is a great deal of flux in the thermal
treatment marketplace.
• Many emerging technologies have yet to
be proven and the financial capacity of
many of the new technology vendors is
limited.
Introduction
Emerging Thermal Treatment Technology
• In the Gasplasma® process, all the
organic substances are transformed
into a clean hydrogen-rich syngas,
which can be used directly in gas
engines or gas turbines or for other
purposes.
• The ash and the inorganic elements
are vitrified – turned into a glass-like
product known as Plasmarok®. This
has a number of high-value
applications for instance as a building
material.
Source: Advanced Plasma Power http://www.advancedplasmapower.com/
Gasplasma
Plasmarok® Source:
Advanced Plasma Power
Emerging Thermal Treatment Technology
• Thermal cracking involves the rapid
heating of waste fuel in the
absence of oxygen to create
syngas.
• The GEM technology processes
refuse derived fuel that has been
ground to less than 2mm particle
size and dried to 5% moisture.
• Thermal cracking is also described
as “fast pyrolysis” as it involves
rapid heating of the waste fuel in
the absence of oxygen.
Thermal Cracking
GEM Converter Source: GEM Canada Waste to Energy Inc.
Emerging Thermal Treatment Technology
• The gasification-oxidation process is a two stage process using
limited oxygen and high temperature.
• The system gasifies the fuel source to produce primarily Carbon
Monoxide and Hydrogen.
• This synthetic gas forms the building blocks for the transformation to
liquid fuels such as diesel.
• Zero Technology Holdings uses Energy Recycling Oxidation
System, a closed system using pure oxygen for the oxidation
process. There are currently no Zero facilities in operation.
Thermal Oxidation
Emerging Thermal Treatment Technology
• Generally based on the concept that rather than use the
syngas produced through gasification as a direct energy
source, it is used as a feedstock to generate liquid fuels
to be used off-site.
• Enerkem converts mixed waste and residues (i.e.
biomass, agricultural residues and/or forest residues)
into syngas which is suitable for the production of
biofuels and chemicals using available catalysts.
Enerkem has one demonstration plant operating in
Quebec and three commercial facilities under
development.
Waste-to-Fuel
Emerging Thermal Treatment Technology
Waste-to-Fuel – Enerkem’s Technology
Source: Enerkem. http://enerkem.com/en/technology-platform/process.html Accessed 2012.
Air Emissions and Control
• The most stringent set of guidelines in Canada for thermal treatment of
waste is Ontario’s Guideline A-7 Air Pollution Control, Design and
Operations Guidelines for Municipal Waste Thermal Treatment Facilities.
Guideline provides in-stack emission limits for a wide range of parameters.
• Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) recommends
that any system that thermally treats wastes for the purpose of disposal be
subject to Canada-Wide Standards (CWS) for Dioxins, Furans and Mercury.
Current requirements under CWS specify annual testing for all incinerators
processing more than 26 tpy of waste.
• The European Union has established air quality guidelines to limit the
emissions of Contaminants of Concern (CACs) and improve air quality.
• Operational controls and Air Pollution Control (APC) systems are used to
meet these standards.
• To ensure a WTE facility will meet current emission limits, vendors are often
willing to guarantee their facility will meet certain emission figures.
Health Effects
• Emissions of CACs and other air contaminants have the potential to cause
health effects, depending on concentrations emitted and the duration of
exposure to these contaminants.
• Health related concerns are considered negligible if thermal treatment
systems adhere to the appropriate emissions guidelines.
• A detailed understanding of potential health risks can only be determined
using risk assessment methodologies once facility-specific emissions are
provided, based on a selected thermal treatment technology and
manufacturer.
Mechanical & Biological Treatment
Technology
• Mechanical treatment technologies use mechanical means to sort input
materials into different fractions based on physical characteristics of the
material.
• Biological treatment technologies use biological means (the use of
microorganisms) to treat input materials for the purpose of stabilizing the
biological fraction of the input material.
• Typically, mechanical and biological treatment technologies are combined
at a single facility known as a mechanical biological treatment (MBT) facility
which processes MSW. MBT facilities function to capture recyclable
materials from the waste stream and stabilize the biodegradable fraction of
the input materials prior to being disposed at a landfill or further processed
at a thermal treatment facility.
• There are instances when only mechanical treatment or biological treatment
alone is used to process MSW.
Introduction
Biological Treatment Technology
• Aerobic composting is an biological
process whereby naturally
occurring microorganisms in the
presence of oxygen convert
organic materials into CO2, water
and heat.
• Best suited to process the source
separated organics fraction of the
MSW stream.
• There are multiple different
composting technologies that have
been employed across Canada to
process source separated
organics.
Aerobic Composting
Biological Treatment Technology
• Produces high quality
compost
• Odour control
management and/or
infrastructure required
• Capital costs associated
with development and
continued operations
• Requires source
separation of organics
stream
Aerobic Composting
Biological Treatment Technology
• Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a biological process
that treats organic materials in the absence of
oxygen
• Producing biogas (typically 50-55% methane) as
a by product.
• Energy production through the combustion of
methane.
• Higher capital costs than aerobic composting.
Anaerobic Digestion
Mechanical Treatment Technology
• Mixed waste processing (MWP) technologies do not
require source separation of organics from the
waste stream.
• Garbage bags are mechanically separated at a
central processing facility producing recyclable
material, compost and residue for final disposal.
• Currently there are 4 MWP facilities operating in
Canada – Edmonton, AB, Sorel-Tracey, QC, Otter
Lake, NS and Westmorland-Alberta, NB.
• All of these facilities service municipalities that have
recycling programs in place.
Mixed Waste Processing
Mechanical Treatment Technology
• Received garbage is placed
in a horizontally sloping
bioreactor where is it is
processed for 2-3 days.
• The material is then
screened. The organics
fraction has been partially
composted, recyclables
such as metals are
recovered and the residual
material is sent for final
disposal.
Mixed Waste Processing
Aeration Hall – Edmonton Composting Facility Source: City of Edmonton
Mechanical Treatment Technology
Mixed Waste Processing
• Does not require residents to source separate the
organics fraction of the waste stream.
• Technology can also process biosolids with the MSW.
• Wide range of capital costs depending on the level of
infrastructure required to achieve separation and odour
control.
• Lower quality compost produced due to higher
contamination rates. Compost from this process does
not meet the Ontario composting quality guidelines,
therefore could only be used for daily cover, restricted
landfill applications or disposal.
Kerrie Skillen, M.E.S. Associate
Environmental Services
Stantec Consulting Ltd. 3430 South Service Rd. Suite 203
Burlington, ON
Tel: (905) 631-3923 Fax: (905) 631-8684
Email: [email protected]
www.stantec.com
James (Jim) Archibald, P.Eng. Managing Leader
Water
Stantec Consulting Ltd. 49 Frederick St. Kitchener, ON
Tel: (519) 575-4115 Fax: (519) 579-8806
Email: [email protected]
www.stantec.com