• Energy Research

The Savannah River Site (SRS) has been actively proceeding with the decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) of various facilities and structures which were instrumental in the success of past missions at the site. The most ambitious of these efforts involves the subcontracting of the complete D&D of the first SRS Tritium Extraction Facility, identified as building 232-F. This facility operated in the mid 1950`s and discontinued operations permanently in 1958. The approach utilized for this effort attempts to invoke the novel principle of {open_quotes}As Commercial As Reasonably Achievable{close_quotes} or {open_quotes}ACARA{close_quotes}. This concept of ACARA applies only the minimum essential requirements necessary to successfully perform the D&D task. Integral to this approach is the subcontractor provision for maximum flexibility in the identification of and adherence to the requirements of applicable DOE Orders, federal, state and local laws and regulations, as well as site specific procedures without violating the site contractual requirements. The technical specification prepared for this effort provides the basis for a competitively bid contract to perform the entire D&D evolution, including initial facility characterization, waste stream characterization and certification, D&D and waste disposal. Preparation and development of this specification and the subsequent Request For Proposal (RFP) was a successful team oriented endeavor. The schedule for this fast-track undertaking took three months to complete. Successful initiation of this task will be the first D&D of a facility containing both radioactive and hazardous material at an operating site within the DOE Weapons Complex. The strategy for preparing the D&D subcontract for the 232-F structure was facilitated by applying the ACARA principle. This approach resulted in the accelerated development of the specification and RFP documents, as well as minimized the complexities of proposal evaluations.

The article discusses current trends and directions of architectural design of waste recycling and disposal complexes. The list of complexes includes incineration plants, waste recycling plants, garbage sorting complexes, landfills, waste disposal, and waste thermal power plants. The article will use drawings to reveal the topic of the article. В статье рассмотрены современные тенденции и направления архитектурного проектирования комплексов переработки и утилизации отходов. В перечень комплексов входят: мусоросжигательные заводы, мусороперерабатывающие заводы, мусор сортирующие комплексы, полигоны захоронения отходов, ТЭЦ на отходах. Использованы рисунки для раскрытия темы статьи.

Recently, the Korean government has been carrying out projects to construct several large scale horticulture facilities. However, it is difficult for an energy supply to operate stably and economically with only a conventional fossil fuel boiler system. For this reason, several unused energy sources have become attractive and it was found that power plant waste heat has the greatest potential for application in this scenario. In this study, we performed a feasibility assessment of power plant waste heat as an energy source for horticulture facilities. As a result, it was confirmed that there was a sufficient amount of energy potential for the use of waste heat to supply energy to the assumed area. In Dangjin, an horticultural area of 500 ha could be constructed by utilizing 20% of the energy reserves. In Hadong, a horticulture facility can be set up to be 260 ha with 7.4% of the energy reserves. In Youngdong, an assumed area of 65 ha could be built utilizing about 19% of the energy reserves. Furthermore, the payback period was calculated in order to evaluate the economic feasibility compared with a conventional system. The initial investment costs can be recovered by the approximately 83% reduction in the annual operating costs.

The objective of this report is to assess the comparative performance and advantages of the various garbage-processing or disposal (landfill) techniques, and to address the issue of large-scale recycling of waste material. Five general methods are discussed: close-in landfill, remote landfill, refuse-derived solid fuel (RDSF), pyrolysis, and incineration. The major issue at this time concerning municipal solid waste disposal is whether to continue with landfill as the primary method or to use some combination of source separation, resource recovery, and energy generation. The constraints surrounding this issue are capital and labor costs, technical feasibility, environmental impacts--especially air pollution--marketability of the derived energy and recycled resources, and public cooperation. (MCW)

The remuneration scheme for the electricity produced by Waste-to-Energy (WtE) recovery plants has changed recently in Portugal according to 2020 legislation. The new model, linking the electricity remuneration from WtE plants to the spot electricity prices, is expected to bring greater uncertainty in the waste activity, which is a novelty for the sector. In Portugal, Valorsul is the municipal waste treatment entity responsible for the recovery and treatment of municipal solid waste (MSW) produced in 19 municipalities in the Lisbon area. This paper highlights the impact of the new Portuguese electricity remuneration scheme for electricity from waste on Valorsul’s WtE plant. For this purpose, the new remuneration scheme is modeled and simulated based on electricity spot market price scenarios, which are compared with the base case scenario of the former remuneration scheme. Considering different electricity prices for the electricity produced by the WtE plant, the present study anticipates the consequences of the gate-fee of such regulatory changes. Results show that any price changes in the electricity remuneration scheme are offset by equivalent changes in the waste gate-fee. Consequently, the change in the remuneration of the electricity from the WtE plant is, in fact, neutral for the Valorsul accounts and lower revenues from the electricity generation activity of the WtE will negatively impact the gate-fee prices paid by the waste users.

Energy production from renewable sources is one of the main ways to fight against global warming. Anaerobic digestion process can be used to produce biogas containing methane. In the light of the growing demand for substrates, a variety of raw materials are required. These substrates should be suitable for anaerobic digestion, and processing them need to provide the desired amount of energy. This paper aims to discuss the agricultural biogas market in Poland, its current state, and the possibility of development during energy transformation, in particular in terms of using waste as a substrate for energy production. In February 2022, there were 130 agricultural biogas plants registered in Poland. On the other hand, in 2020, 4,409,054.898 Mg of raw materials were used to produce agricultural biogas in Poland. Among all the substrates used, waste played a special role. With the right amount of raw materials and proper management of a biogas plant, it is possible to produce electricity and provide stable and predictable heat supply. Bearing in mind the development of the Polish and European biogas markets, attention should be paid to ensure access to raw materials from which chemical energy in the form of biogas can be generated. Due to limited access to farmland and the increasing demand for food production, one should expect that waste will be increasingly often used for biogas production, especially that with high energy potential, such as waste related to animal production and the meat industry.

Significant quantities of wood residue fuels are presently being used in industrial steam generating facilities. Recent studies indicate that substantial additional quantities of wood residue fuels are available for energy generation in the form of steam and/or electricity. A limited data base on the combustion characteristics of wood residue fuels has resulted in the installation and operation of inefficient combustion systems for these fuels. This investigation of the combustion characteristics of wood residue fuels was undertaken to provide a data base which could be used to optimize the combustion of such fuels. Optimization of the combustion process in industrial boilers serves to improve combustion efficiency and to reduce air pollutant emissions generated in the combustion process. Data are presented on the combustion characteristics of hemlock bark. The data were obtained in a pilot scale combustion test facility at Oregon State University.

The Slovak Republic does not meet the targets of the waste economy in the long run. In order to meet these objectives, it is necessary to make changes to the current system of municipal waste management. Building on an empirical analysis, this paper focuses on the evaluation of the production of municipal waste and the factors that influence the level of municipal waste sorting as a prerequisite for the maximal re-use, recovery, or recycling of municipal waste. The type of fee for municipal waste was confirmed as the most significant factor for the higher rate of municipal waste sorting, and pertinent recommendations were suggested according to the needs of Slovak municipalities.

The waste treatment system of Toulouse-Le Mirail (France) is a complex composed of an incinerator with heat-recovery equipment and an oil-fired heating facility. It was designed to burn the household waste of a city of 400,000 inhabitants while at the same time providing central heating and hot water to a suburb of 100,000 inhabitants. Sufficient electricity is also generated for in-plant use. Technical data for the system are reported in detail. The economics and management are reviewed. The system has operated for five years without major problems. (JSR)