Energy from trash. Encyclopedia of radio electronics and electrical engineering

Encyclopedia of radio electronics and electrical engineering / Alternative energy sources

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The problem of garbage is familiar firsthand to any resident of a big city. The city is trying to get rid of unnecessary waste by dumping it in special areas. Landfills are growing in size and are already advancing on individual microdistricts. At least 40 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) is accumulated in Russia annually. At the same time, waste incineration plants can be used as an additional source of electricity.

First generation MSZ

Britain at the end of the XNUMXth century. The first waste incineration plant (MSZ) was built. Initially, incinerators were used to reduce the volume of waste residues stored in landfills and to decontaminate them. Later, it was found that the heat generated by MSZ can be compared with the calorific value of high-ash brown coal, and MSW can be used as fuel for thermal power plants (TPPs).

The first waste incineration units largely repeated the boiler units of thermal power plants: MSW was burned on the grates of power boilers, and the heat obtained from waste incineration was used to produce steam and subsequently generate electricity.

It should be noted that the boom in the construction of incinerators fell on the period of the energy crisis of the 1970s. Hundreds of incinerators have been built in developed countries. It seemed that the problem of MSW disposal was solved. But incinerators of that time did not have reliable means for cleaning exhaust gases emitted into the atmosphere.

Many experts began to note that this technology has big disadvantages. Dioxins are formed during incineration, waste incineration facilities are also one of the main sources of mercury and heavy metal emissions.

Therefore, rather simple in design and relatively cheap incineration plants of the first generation had to be closed or reconstructed, improving and, accordingly, increasing the cost of the system for cleaning gases emitted into the atmosphere.

Second generation MSZ

From the second half of the 1990s. In Europe, the construction of the second generation incinerator began. The cost of these enterprises is about 40% of the cost of modern efficient gas treatment facilities. But the essence of MSW incineration processes still has not changed.

Traditional incinerators incinerate non-dried waste. The natural humidity of MSW usually ranges from 30-40%. Therefore, a significant amount of the heat released during the incineration of waste is spent on the evaporation of moisture, and the temperature in the combustion zone usually cannot be raised above 1 °C.

Slags formed from the mineral component of MSW at such temperatures are obtained in a solid state in the form of a porous, fragile mass with a developed surface, capable of adsorbing a large amount of harmful impurities during waste incineration and relatively easy to release harmful elements when stored in landfills and landfills. Correction of the composition and properties of the formed slags is impossible.

Moscow plans to install second-generation incinerators

In all districts of Moscow, except for the Central District, in the coming years, waste processing and incineration plants will be built and reconstructed. It is expected that second generation incinerators will be built.

This is stated in the draft decree of the city government, approved on March 11, 2008. For 80 billion rubles by 2012, six new waste incineration plants (MSZ) will be built, seven waste processing complexes will be reconstructed and a plant for thermal disposal of hazardous medical waste will be launched. The land plots for the plants have already been determined.

Now the resources of the regional landfills are practically exhausted. "In five years, if we don't build our own recycling facilities, Moscow will drown in rubbish," says Adam Gonopolsky, a member of the State Duma's top environmental council. In conditions when landfills are closed, and waste processing enterprises cannot be built for environmental reasons, the only way out, in his opinion, is incinerators.

While Muscovites are on strike against the construction of new waste incineration plants, the city authorities are considering the option of building waste incineration plants not only in Moscow, but also in the Moscow region. Yuri Luzhkov spoke about this at a meeting with deputies of the Moscow City Duma in June 2009.

"Why can't we come to an agreement with the Moscow Region on the placement of such plants and an increase in the number of landfills for waste storage," Yury Luzhkov asked. He also said that he considers it appropriate to develop a city bill, according to which all garbage must be sorted before disposal. "Such a law will reduce the volume of waste sent to incinerators and landfills from 5 million tons to 1,5-2 million tons per year," the mayor said.

Waste sorting can also be useful for other alternative waste processing technologies. But this issue also needs to be resolved by law.

New Energy Opportunities for MSZ: European Experience

In Europe, it has already been resolved. Waste that has been sorted is an integral part of the supply of electricity and heat to the population. In particular, in Denmark, incinerators integrated since the early 1990s. 3% of electricity and 18% of heat are provided to the system of electricity and heat supply of cities.

In the Netherlands, only about 3% of waste is taken to landfills, since since 1995 the country has had a special tax on waste that is taken to special landfills. It is 85 euros for 1 ton of waste and makes landfills economically inefficient. Therefore, the bulk of the waste is recycled, and part is converted into electricity and heat.

For Germany, it is considered the most effective construction by industrial enterprises of their own thermal power plants using waste from their own production. This approach is most typical for chemical, paper and food industries.

Europeans have long adhered to the preliminary separation of waste. Each yard has separate containers for different types of waste. This process was legislated back in 2005.

In Germany, up to 8 million tons of waste is generated annually, which can be used to generate electricity and heat. However, only 3 million tons of this amount finds use. But by 2010, by XNUMX, an increase in the input capacities of power plants operating on waste should change this situation.

Emissions trade forces Europeans to approach waste disposal, especially by burning it, from completely different positions. We are already talking about the cost of reducing carbon emissions.

In Germany, the following standards apply for incinerators - the cost of avoiding the emission of 1 mg of carbon dioxide when using municipal waste for electricity production is 40-45 euros, and for heat production - 20-30 euros. While the same costs for the production of electricity by solar panels amount to 1 thousand euros. The efficiency of incinerators, which can produce electricity and heat, compared to some other alternative energy sources is tangible.

The German energy concern E.ON plans to become Europe's leading waste-to-energy company. The company's goal is to take a 15-25% share in the respective markets of Holland, Luxembourg, Poland, Turkey and the UK. Moreover, E.ON considers Poland to be the main direction, since in this country (as in Russia) garbage is mainly disposed of in landfills. And EU regulations provide for a medium-term ban on such landfills in the countries of the community.

By 2015, the turnover of the German energy concern in the field of energy recycling of waste should exceed 1 billion euros. Today, the performance of this one of the leading German energy concerns is much more modest and amounts to 260 million euros. But even at this scale, E.ON is already considered Germany's leading waste disposer, ahead of firms such as Remondis and MVV Energie. Its share so far is 20%, and it operates nine waste incinerators, which produce 840 GWh of electricity and 660 GWh of heat. Even larger competitors in Europe are located in France.

It should be noted that in Germany the situation with waste disposal changed radically only in 2005, when laws were passed prohibiting uncontrolled waste dumping. Only after that the garbage business became profitable. At present, Germany needs to process approximately 25 million tons of waste annually, and only 70 plants with a capacity of 18,5 million tons are available.

Russian solutions

Russia also presents interesting solutions for generating additional electricity from waste. The industrial company "Technology of Metals" (Chelyabinsk), together with ZAO NPO Gidropress (Podolsk) and NP ZAO AKONT (Chelyabinsk), developed a project for an economical, multi-purpose continuous melting unit "MAGMA" (APM " MAGMA"). This technology has already been tested in pilot conditions, technological schemes for its use.

Compared to traditionally used MSW incinerators, the MAGMA unit and the technology of high-temperature and waste-free waste disposal have a number of advantages that make it possible to reduce capital costs for the construction of an MLT for the disposal of unsorted waste. These include:

• the possibility of recycling municipal waste with natural moisture, pre-drying it before loading, thus raising the temperature of burning municipal waste and increasing the amount of electricity produced per ton of waste burned to world standards;
• the possibility of burning municipal waste in an oxygen atmosphere on the surface of the superheated slag melt formed from the mineral component of municipal waste, reaching a gas phase temperature in the incinerator of 1800-1900°C, and a temperature of molten slag 1500-1650°C and reducing the total amount of emitted gases and oxides nitrogen in them;
• the possibility of obtaining liquid acidic slag from the mineral component of municipal waste, periodically draining it from the furnace. This slag is strong and dense, does not emit any harmful substances during storage, and can be used for the production of building rubble, slag casting and other building materials.
• the dust caught in the gas cleaning of the unit is blown back into the melting chamber, into the slag melt by special injectors and is completely assimilated by the slag.

According to other indicators, the WIP equipped with the MAGMA unit is not inferior to the existing WIP, while the amount of harmful substances emitted with gases complies with EU standards and is lower than when burning municipal waste in traditionally used units. Thus, the use of APM "MAGMA" allows the technology of non-waste disposal of unsorted municipal waste, without adversely affecting the environment. The unit can also be successfully used for the reclamation of existing garbage dumps, the efficient and safe disposal of medical waste, and the disposal of used car tires.

During the thermal processing of 1 ton of municipal waste with a natural moisture content of up to 40%, the following amount of marketable products will be obtained: electricity - 0,45-0,55 MW / h; cast iron - 7-30 kg; building materials or products - 250-270 kg. Capital costs for the construction of an incineration plant with a capacity of up to 600 thousand tons per year of unsorted waste in the conditions of the city of Chelyabinsk will amount to an estimated 120 million euros. The payback period of investments is from 6 to 7,5 years.

The MAGMA project for the processing of solid industrial waste in 2007 was supported by the decision of the Committee on Ecology of the State Duma of the Russian Federation.

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