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Evs E-Assignment (Final)

The document discusses two main methods for recovering energy from solid waste: 1) Biochemical conversion (e.g. anaerobic digestion) which uses microbes to break down organic waste into biogas. 2) Thermochemical conversion (e.g. incineration) which uses heat to break down organic waste and produces heat energy or fuel oil/gas. Both methods aim to utilize the energy contained in organic waste rather than sending it to landfills. The document provides details on the processes, parameters, technologies, and energy outputs of each method.

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AbhraneilMeitBhattacharya
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© © All Rights Reserved
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51 views

Evs E-Assignment (Final)

The document discusses two main methods for recovering energy from solid waste: 1) Biochemical conversion (e.g. anaerobic digestion) which uses microbes to break down organic waste into biogas. 2) Thermochemical conversion (e.g. incineration) which uses heat to break down organic waste and produces heat energy or fuel oil/gas. Both methods aim to utilize the energy contained in organic waste rather than sending it to landfills. The document provides details on the processes, parameters, technologies, and energy outputs of each method.

Uploaded by

AbhraneilMeitBhattacharya
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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E-assignment of

Environmental Science
Topic - Energy Recovery from solid waste:

Abstract: Solid waste is the everyday waste


generated through different sources , from
household to industrial waste, there is
something common and that is recycling and
energy recovery from the solid waste.

Fig(1): The garbage island of the pacific

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The problem:
With the growing population comes a major
responsibility and that is proper waste
disposal, while wastes like single use plastic
end up being in the oceans and gutters for a
very long time which has been a concern for
the planet. Below is the image of garbage
island in the pacific ocean twice the size of
Texas.

The solution:
As mentioned earlier not every kind of waste
can be reused , many types of wastes produced
can be recycled and energy can be recovered
form it.

Solid Waste (SW) also known as municipal


solid waste contains inorganic as well as
organic matter. The energy present in its
organic part can be recovered for utilisation

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through applying suitable Treatment and
Waste Processing technologies.

The different methods of waste


processing:

There are basically two methods:


(i) Bio-chemical conversion: This process is based on
enzymatic decomposition of organic matter by
microbial action to produce methane gas or alcohol.
Example: Anaerobic Digestion.

(ii) Thermo-chemical conversion : This process entails


thermal de-composition of organic matter to produce
either heat energy or fuel oil or gas.
Example: Incineration.

The Parameters :
Before applying the techniques to extract energy from
The waste , the waste must be sorted into categories
Through its physical and chemical property

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Physical Parameters:
(i) The size of the constituents
(ii) The moisture content of the constituents
(iii) The density of the waste selected
Physical parameters like destiny are an
important factor as higher density materials
are generally suitable for methods like
incineration and the energy recovery % is also
more generally.

Chemical Parameters:
Even more important parameters are chemical
parameters such as
(i) Toxicity
(ii)% of carbon present
(iii)% of nitrogen present
(iv)% of volatile matter
(v)C-N (Carbon-Nitrogen Ratio)

Below is a table of parameters for


energy recovery from waste materials.

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Waste Treatment Basic principle Important Waste Desirable Range
Method Parameters

Thermo-chemical Decomposition of Moisture content < 45 %


conversion organic matter by Organic/ Volatile
> 40 %
-Incineration action of heat. matter
Fixed Carbon < 15 %
Total Inerts
Calorific Value < 35 %

>1200 k-cal/kg

Anaerobic Digestion Decomposition of Volatile matter C/N 25-30%


organic matter by ratio
microbial action.

The Various Technological Options:

(i) Anaerobic Digestion : Also known as


Bio-methanation , in simple words is the
action of a specific type of bacteria also known
as anaerobic bacteria which does not require
oxygen for survival is used and the bacteria’s
Enzymes act upon the waste.

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The process: Organic part of the waste is fed
into closed tanks under anaerobic conditions,
the organic wastes undergo bio-degradation
producing methane-rich biogas and sludge.

The output of this process is biogas which


contains primarily methane(CH4).The biogas
can be utilised either for cooking, producing
electricity exploiting its rich calorific value
The gas is a clean source of energy.

The steps to produce methane from waste :

Step (i): It involves the fermentative bacteria,


which include anaerobic micro-organisms.
Complex organic materials, carbohydrates,
proteins and lipids are hydrolysed(Broken
down) and fermented into fatty acids, alcohol,
carbon dioxide, hydrogen and ammonia.

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Image of a biogas plant.

Step(ii): In this stage the acetogenic bacteria


consume these primary products and produce
hydrogen, carbon dioxide and acetic acid.
[Acetogenic Bacteria: a class of bacteria that generates acetone as the
end product of fermentation or anaerobic digestion.]

Step(iii): It utilises two separate types of


methanogenic bacteria. The first reduces
carbon dioxide to methane and then the
second decarboxylates acetic acid to methane
and carbon dioxide.

Different Systems/Designs of
Anaerobic digestion Plants :

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(i) Low / Medium Solid Digestion Systems: A large number of
systems presently available worldwide for digestion of 269 solid
wastes are for low (< 10%) or medium (10-16%) solid
concentrations. Some of these systems, when applied to MSW or
Market Waste, require the use of water, sewage sludge or manure.

(ii) High Solid Continuous Digestion Systems: These systems have


been developed since the late eighties principally for the organic
fraction of municipal solid waste but have also been extended to
other industrial, market and agricultural wastes. The digestion
occurs at solid content of 16% to 40%. These systems are referred
to as ‘Dry Digestion’ or Anaerobic Composting when the solid
concentration is in the range of 25-40% and free water content is
low.

(iii) Two Stage Digestion Systems: In these systems the hydrolysis,


acidogenesis and acetogenesis of the waste are carried out
separately from the methanogenesis stage.

The energy output from bio-chemical reaction


Such as anaerobic digestion can be
approximated with this formula:
Total waste quantity: W (tonnes)
Total Organic / Volatile Solids: VS = 50 %, say Organic bio-
degradable fraction : approx. 66% of VS = 0.33 x W
Typical digestion efficiency = 60 % Typical bio-gas yield: B (m3 )=
0.80 m3 / kg. of VS destroyed = 0.80 x 0.60 x 0.33 x W x1000 =
158.4 x W Calorific Value of bio-gas = 5000 kcal/m3 (typical)
Energy recovery potential (kWh) = B x 5000 / 860 = 921 x W
Power generation potential (kW) = 921 x W/ 24 = 38.4 x W Typical
Conversion Efficiency = 30% Net power generation potential (kW)
= 11.5 x W In general, 100 tonnes of raw MSW can produce 1-1.5
MegaWatt of Energy

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(ii) Incineration: This is the second method
which falls under thermo-chemical conversion
and is defined as : It is the process of direct
burning of wastes in the presence of excess air
(oxygen) at temperatures of about 800C and
above, liberating heat energy, inert gases and
ash.In practice, about 65 to 80 % of the energy
content of the organic matter can be recovered
as heat energy, which can be utilised either for
direct thermal applications, or for producing
power via steam turbine generators (with
typical conversion efficiency of about 30%).

While incineration as a method has not been


used in India , Western countries like the USA
and Japan use it abundantly.

The Process :

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(i)The combustion temperatures of
conventional incinerators fuelled only by
wastes are about 760C in the primary chamber.

(ii) In the secondary combustion chamber. The


temperatures upto 870C are needed to avoid
odour from incomplete combustion but are
insufficient to burn or even melt glass.

(iii) To avoid the deficiencies of conventional


incinerators, some modern incinerators utilise
higher temperatures of upto 1650C using
supplementary fuel. These reduce waste
volume by 97% and convert metal and glass to
ash.

Different Systems/Designs of
Incinerators:

(i)Mass Burn: About three-fourths of the waste-to-


energy facilities in the USA and Japan and other
western countries are mass burn , where refuse is
burned just as it is delivered to the plant, without

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processing or separation. These plants are sized to
incinerate up to 3,000 tons of refuse per day and
use two or more burners in a single plant.

(ii) Modular Combustion Units: Modular


incinerators are simply small ‘mass burn’ plants
with capacity ranging from 25 to 300 tonnes per
day. The boilers are built in a factory and shipped to
the plant site, rather than being erected on the site,
as is the case with larger plants. These facilities are
often used in small communities.

(iii) Refuse-Derived Fuel (RDF) based Power


Plants: In an RDF plant, waste is processed before
burning. Typically, the noncombustible items are
removed, separating glass and metals for recycling.
RDF plants involve significantly more sorting
and handling than Mass Burn facilities and
therefore provide greater opportunity to
remove environmentally harmful materials
from the incoming waste prior to combustion.

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Image of an incinerator

Total waste quantity : W tonnes Net Calorific Value : NCV k-


cal/kg. Energy recovery potential (kWh) = NCV x W x
1000/860 = 1.16 x NCV x W Power generation potential (kW)
= 1.16 x NCV x W/ 24 = 0.048 x NCV x W Conversion
Efficiency = 25% Net power generation potential (kW) =
0.012 x NCV x W If NCV = 1200 k-cal/kg., then Net power
generation potential (kW) = 14.4 x W
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Energy output of Thermo-chemical
methods of energy recovery:
Uses of Incineration:
The most common use of
incineration is the heat energy
derived from the process to power
Boilers. Below is an image to
graphically represent incineration
and its use.

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Conclusion : The methods discussed
above have been here for a long time
and are being used in India and
multiple countries , to make these
energy recovery systems more
efficient and successful is the
implementation of Integrated Waste
Management System and most
important of all , Increased
awareness to properly dispose waste
and segregation by us humans to
make sure waste is easier to
categorise and incidents like jammed
gutters and and the giant island of
garbage happens less and the
sustainability of the planet increases.

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Bibliography:

(i) Energy recovery from municipal


solid waste.
http://cpheeo.gov.in/upload/uploadfiles/files/chap15(1).pdf

(ii) www.medium.com for the image


of the garbage island
(iii)www.google.com
(iv)www.wikipedia.com

An assignment prepared by:

Abhraneil Bhattacharya
Branch: I.MSc Physics K19
Roll no. : IPH/10025/19

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