WASTE TO ENERGY REPORT

Transcription

1 WASTE TO ENERGY REPORT HON PHIL EDMAN MLC MAY 2011 A REPORT DETAILING THE TECHNOLOGY, BENEFITS AND OPPORTUNITIES OF WASTE TO ENERGY PLANTS IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA

2 CONTENTS 1) INTRODUCTION..Pg 3 2) BACKGROUND Case Study: W2E plants in operation Pg 4 Technology.. Pg 5 Emissions Pg 6 3) AUSTRALIAN BASED TECHNOLOGY PROVIDERS Moltoni Energy.Pg 8 New Energy Corporation.Pg 9 4) CONCLUSION.. Pg 10 5) GALLERY..Pg 11 6) REFERENCES Pg 12 2 P a g e

3 1) INTRODUCTION The challenge of establishing clean, renewable energy for Australia has never been so prevalent or critical until recent history. Landfill availability in the medium to long term is also an increasingly growing problem for local governments throughout Western Australia. This report aims to highlight the latest waste-to-energy technologies commonly used in Japan and other parts of the world to turn municipal and industrial waste into low-cost renewable energy; a potential technology with many environmental benefits that can be applied to Western Australia to combat increasing landfill waste pressures. The report will also examine how the technology works, how the waste is converted into renewable energy and how the residual ash is transformed into an inert substance suitable for the manufacture of bricks for construction purposes. A waste-to-energy plant in Western Australia would see a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, a significant reduction in landfill requirements and many local jobs created during and after construction. Towards Zero Waste is another strategy for waste management that requires support from the whole Western Australian community for a vision of zero waste by The strategy was released by the then-environment Minister Cheryl Edwardes during the Court-Coalition State Government in January 2001 in a bid to establish Western Australia as a world leader in waste management. (Edwardes, Ministerial Media Statements, 2001) What is clear from international experience is that such a goal is not achievable without having a waste to energy platform as an integrated part of a waste management strategy. 3 P a g e

4 2) BACKGROUND Case Study: W2E plants in Japan With the high-standard of technology in Japan, it is not surprising that the country is leading the way with latest waste-to-energy technologies. The Clean Association of Tokyo 23 is a special local government body that was established by agreement of the 23 constituent cities in the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to jointly manage waste treatment. The Clean Association of Tokyo 23 uses high temperature combustion processes to incinerate waste at around 21 waste-to-energy plants, eliminating the need for landfilling or biological waste digestion processes, thus preventing the potential for bacteria and bad odours while maintaining a hygienic environment. The waste-to-energy plants reduce the waste to ash; the ash is then treated through a plasma arc process, in which it is transformed into an inert substance suitable for construction material. The emissions of toxic substances through these processes are controlled and limited, effectively reducing the net impacts on the environment. In addition, the plants generate electricity from the heat energy created from the combustion process. (Clean Association of Tokyo 23, Waste Report 2011, Pg 3-7) Among these modern waste-to-energy plants is the Ariake W2E plant in Tokyo, which I toured along with the Premier Colin Barnett. The Managing Director of Moltoni Energy, an Australian alternative energy company, Peter Dyson was also in attendance. The plant was designed and built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Environment and Chemical Company who use the Martin Grate (Germany), mass combustion technology. Martin Grate technology is the predominate process used globally. (Hon Phil Edman with the Premier Colin Barnett and Moltoni Energy's Peter Dyson at the Ariake Plant) 4 P a g e

5 Technology Modern waste-to-energy plants utilise new-generation Westinghouse and Mitsubishi (Martin Grate) and other similar technologies to solve the growing municipal landfill waste crisis. These technologies include mass combustion and plasma assisted gasification. The Plasma Gasification Unit uses extremely high temperatures to develop synthetic gas from the waste which is then used as an alternative to natural gas. In all the technologies the waste is safely processed using extremely high temperatures and the heat is used to create steam to generate electricity. All the waste received is completely converted; the residual ash by-products can be used to create bricks suitable for construction purposes. (Moltoni Energy, 2011, Plasma Gasification) This process ensures nothing that enters the waste-to-energy facility goes back into landfill, and thus positively contributes to the Towards Zero Waste strategy. * A DIAGRAM SHOWING HOW THE PLASMA GASIFICATION PROCESS WORKS (Westinghouse Plasma Corporation) 5 P a g e

6 Emissions Modern waste-to-energy plants are a unique source of continuous renewable energy generation, which is a key factor for local and state governments to reach renewable energy targets. In addition to significantly reducing the overall household waste to landfill, the waste-to-energy plants provide an alternative to coal-fired power generation, essentially reducing the amount of greenhouse gas emissions. (Moltoni Energy, 2011) During a visit to Japan in March 2011, I discovered many environmentally safe waste-to-energy plants located adjacent to public areas, such as high-residential buildings and schools. FIGURE 1: *The below table summarises the criteria and performance of a Martin grate, such as supplied by Mitsubishi, from a plant in Italy as an example of emissions produced. Image: (Moltoni Energy, 2011, Mass Combustion) (Brescia plant data) 6 P a g e

7 FIGURE 2: The table below is an example of the average levels of exhaust emissions in waste-to-energy facilities from the Clean Association of TOKYO 23. (Clean Association of Tokyo 23, Waste Report 2011, Pg 8) 7 P a g e

8 3) AUSTRALIAN BASED TECHNOLOGY PROVIDERS Moltoni Energy Moltoni Energy is an alternative energy company that is licensed to deploy leading Westinghouse and Mitsubishi (Martin Grate) waste-to-energy technologies in Australia. The company uses energy conversion technology from the United States, Japan and Europe. There are currently more than 900 renewable energy plants of this type worldwide. The waste-to-energy plants comply with new European Environmental Standards, which involve sophisticated pollution control systems; an arrangement of filters, scrubbers and catalytic reactors. Moltoni Energy is discussing the waste-to-energy technologies with various councils and State Governments, in a bid to reduce landfill pollution and to generate clean energy that is cheaper than coal-fired power stations. Typically, one tonne of municipal solid waste processed in a waste-to-energy plant reduces emissions by approximately 1 tonne of carbon dioxide, rather than the waste being landfilled. The energy produced reduces the need for oil by one barrel or 0.25 tonnes of coal. According to Moltoni, each garbage bin put out on the kerb each week would contain enough energy on average, to provide 14% of a household s electrical needs for a week. (Moltoni Energy, 2011) Moltoni has highlighted its involvement for a proposed waste-to-energy project in Kwinana- the first of its kind in Australia. The facility would be built on 3 to 5 hectares of land, and current estimates indicate the plant would have a capacity of approximately 200,000 to 300,000 tonnes per year (Kwinana Industries Council, 2010). Moltoni expects the power output to be between 35 MW to of 80MW from 300,000 tonnes of waste per year, depending on the calorific value of the fuel that is secured. Respectively, the plant could provide power for between 55,440 households (35 MW) to 126, 720 households (80 MW). The proposed plant would obtain waste from local governments as well as industrial waste from surrounding industries, all of which currently end up in suitable classed landfills or treatment plants. Moltoni Energy has moved to assure community and stakeholders of the safe guards in place for such a facility. These include established community charters to set lower emission limits than those permitted by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), automatic shut downs of critical limits and live monitoring displayed on the website for community access. The issue of local content is also benefited with up to 800 jobs during construction and 60 permanent fulltime positions. (Moltoni Energy, 2011) 8 P a g e

9 New Energy Corporation New Energy Corporation Pty Ltd (New Energy) is a privately owned Australian company. The company's mission is to integrate generic waste management and recycling technologies with an advanced thermal conversion technology (gasification) for a waste treatment solution. New Energy is the exclusive Australian & NZ licensee for the Entech WtGas-ResTM gasification technology. (New Energy Corporation, 2011) The company is planning to develop projects in the Perth metropolitan area and Pilbara, to support the 'Pilbara Cities' Initiative and associated growth in population. Figures released from the Waste Authority estimate that both Port Hedland and Karratha will generate around 150,000 tonnes of waste per annum in the coming years. The plant would treat around 100,000 tonnes of waste and transmit 13.5 MW of electricity into the North West Interconnecting System. Much of the energy will be sourced from renewable materials making the power renewable. This is enough energy to sustain 21, 000 North West homes for a year. In the metropolitan area, New Energy is looking to divert construction and demolition (C & D) waste and commercial and industrial (C & I) waste away from landfills. The Waste Authority reported that in 2006/7 financial year over 2.5 million tonnes of C & D waste and over 1 million tonnes of C & I waste was landfilled in WA (Zero Waste WA, 2010). New Energy will seek to recover energy from 100,000 tonnes of this waste. It should be noted that recyclable items will be recovered prior to energy recovery, with material recovery facilities (MRF) being planned for both locations. All New Energy gasification plants are guaranteed to meet the stack emission limits given in EU Directive 2000/76/EC (the Waste Incineration Directive or WID ). (See Figure 1, Page 6) Figure 3: New Energy Low Temperature Gasification Process (New Energy Corp, 2011) 9 P a g e

10 4) CONCLUSION The impressive modern waste-to-energy technologies, used in hundreds of waste plants around the world, is one that would significantly benefit local governments in Western Australia and address increasing landfill waste issues. As the nation prepares for the Federal Labor Government s highly unpopular Carbon Tax, local and state governments must ensure alternative solutions are available to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Among the benefits of cleaner, renewable energy, a waste-to-energy plant in Western Australia would provide a significant reduction in landfill, jobs created during and after construction, and additional income for councils from the resale of energy by avoiding the costs and levies associated with landfill sites. This is even before we consider the savings gained from not hauling waste products to new landfills located further out or the inherent loss of that captured energy (municipal waste) being buried for hundreds of years. 10 P a g e

11 5) GALLERY Tour of the Ariake W2E plant, Tokyo Main Gasification Reactor (New Energy Corporation, 2011) Gasification Reactor and Gas Burner (New Energy Corporation, 2011) 11 P a g e

12 6) REFERENCES (Edwardes, C. (Minister for Environment). (2001) Zero Waste Strategy makes Western Australia world leader: Minister. Ministerial Media Statements. vernmentsearch.aspx?itemid=114328&minister=edwardes&admin=court) Clean Association of Tokyo 23. (2011). Waste Report Towards a Recycling Society. Japan. Moltoni Energy. (2011). Plasma Gasification, retrieved on the 19th of May, ( Kwinana Industries Council. (2011). Communities and Industries Forum- Minutes of Meeting, retrieved on the 19th of May, ( New Energy Corporation. (2011). What we do- Waste to Gas Process, retrieved on the 19th of May, ( Waste Authority WA, Zero Waste WA. (2011). Draft Waste Strategy 2010, retrieved on the 19th of May, ( 12 P a g e