a lower BTU fuel, it is also a low sulfur fuel, a fact which gives a significant environmental advantage over other higher sulfur Table 1 compares the composition of MSW and that of bitun coal. In this analysis, the sulfur content of MSW is one twelft of coal.

A potential economic advantage to burning refuse for its value is that it may help to reduce the cost of disposal by tradi means. For many cities this cost is increasing. In fact, a large nu of municipalities faced with depleting landfill sites have turn incineration with per ton disposal cost in the $8 to $15 range. culating the value of this material as fuel is not a difficult task, at for a first approximation. For example, bituminous coal is sol $0.38 per million BTU. At this rate, a ton of MSW, based on ave BTU value, would be worth about $3.40. However, it should be n that the actual computation of MSW fuel value is not this strai forward: contractual, institutional, transportation, and proces factors must be considered.

Because the production of energy from municipal solid wast ecologically sound-and appears to be in many applications e nomical-it warrants serious consideration as a viable alternative solid waste management and resource recovery. Some private co panies are now exploring the idea and are constructing pilot-se plants.

Source: Horner & Shifrin, Inc., Refuse as Supplementary Fuel for Power Plants, City of St. Louis, Missouri, March, 1970.

Public awareness has created pressures at the private and governmental level which have caused new and improved methods of ecologically and economically producing energy. Progress made in harnessing energy potential of refuse is explained below:

METHODS OF ENERGY CONVERSION FOR MSW

This treats refuse only as an energy source, with emphasis on the following energy producing systems:

Burning refuse in steam generating incinerators-This process uses the heat generated during incineration to produce steam that can be used to heat and air condition buildings, for industrial processing or to drive turbines that produce electricity.

Burning refuse in existing heat exchangers-Refuse can be substituted, as an adjunct fuel, for fossil sources of energy in already existing power boilers. In general, such applications are for the production of steam for heating and cooling or for driving turbine generators.

Pyrolizing refuse-Pyrolysis is the process of heating material to high temperature in the absence of oxygen causing the material to break down into burnable gases, chars and oils. By pyrolizing refuse, a transportable fuel is produced and the gases can also be used to produce steam.

Hydrogenation-This is the process of converting refuse into a heavy oil by heating it in the presence of carbon monoxide and steam under pressure.

Anaerobic digestion-This is the process of decomposition of organic material in the absence of oxygen. A product of this process is methane gas which in certain cases appears to have the potential of being used as a natural gas substitute.

Cubetting-There are many techniques for forming solid cubes of refuse which can be stored for limited times and/or transported more economically than raw refuse of increased bulk density.

6. Stephen Philips, "Current Practices and Federal Activities in Municipal Solid Waste Management," (March 1973):

RESOURCE RECOVERY DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS

[Dollar amounts in millions]

Total cost EPA funding Began

Ends

$2.8

$1.87 March 1969.

April 1974.

Description

A fluid-mechanical system for separation and fluid bed oxidation of
combustibles; this facility currently processes 50 tons of refuse per
day, but has capacity for 150 tons per 24-hr period; system produces
fibers suitable for paper recycling, separates metals and color-sorts
glass. Current processing costs are $33 per ton.
This facility uses shredded solid waste and sewage sludge to generate
electricity. Pilot project processes 90 tons per day. Basic model con-
sists of 3 power modules, each consuming 160 tons of solid waste
and 44,000 gals. of sewage sludge per day while generating 3,000 kw
of electricity. Any number of power modules can be incorporated
into a CPU-400 plant to provide for various size communities' solid
waste and sewage sludge loads.

Refuse is shredded and processed so that it can be used as a fuel which
is blended with coal in a utility boiler plant to produce electricity.
An average of 100 tons of residential solid waste per day are now
being processed, replacing 10 percent of the coal in the utility boiler.
The facility is capable of supplying 600 tons of processed refuse (30
percent of the city's trash) which will produce 20 percent of the total
heat load of boiler.
Through a combined combustion-pyrolytic process, solid wastes are
converted to a gas and a chemically-inert molten slag. The gases
can be burned to make steam for power generation and the slag
can be used in building blocks, insulating fiber, or a base material
in highway construction. A pilot plant now handles 75 tons of wastes
per day at a cost of $12 to $14 per ton. The facility will have a 250-
ton-per-day capacity when it becomes operational in January 1974.
The facility can process a limited quantity of such hard-to-dispose-of
items as auto body parts, tires, plastics, and refrigerators.

1.2

.6

July 1969.

January 1974.

120 tons of refuse are shredded and separated daily. Noncombustibles, principally ferrous metals and glass cullet, are recovered and sold. Combustibles are incinerated through a non-polluting vortex burner.

1,000 tons of municipal solid waste (half of Baltimore's total) will
be processed and converted through pyrolysis into fuel gas daily. The
gas will be burned to boil water to make steam for generating elec-
tricity. The steam and materials to be recovered from the waste
(ferrous metals and crushed glass) will be sold and are expected to
produce annual revenues exceeding $1,500,000 annually. The
system is to become operational in June 1974.

A 500-ton-per-day processing plant will handle 485 tons of municipal
waste, 15 tons of light industrial waste, and 55,000 gallons of sewage
sludge. Organic materials will be converted to compost; combustibles
not suitable for composting will be converted through pyrolysis to
fuel gas and carbon char. Ferrous and nonferrous metals and glass
cullet will be recovered. A total of 310 tons per day of various
products having a market value of $4,355 is projected. The project
is to become operational in early 1975.

Using a series of screens, shredders, classifiers and other ore benefica-
tion equipment, 40,000 tons of products will be extracted from
incinerator residues. The facility will be capable of handling 250
tons of incinerator residue daily. The system is to become operational
in February 1975.

A 200-ton-per-day recycling plant will use a process, known as flash
pyrolysis, to produce a fuel oil from organic wastes for use in utility
boilers. Ferrous metals and mixed-color glass cullet will be recovered
from the inorganic wastes. The facility is expected to produce between
$200,000 and $300,000 worth of products annually and should become
operational by December 1974.

1 Source for $6,000,000 needed in fiscal year 1974 and 1975 uncertain.

7. Wheelabrator-Frye, Inc., "Statement to the Subcommittee on Environment, Committee on Commerce, United States Senate on the Resource Conservation and Waste Management Act of 1973 (S. 2753)," (1973), pp. 1-11:

Mr. Chairman, Wheelabrator-Frye Inc. wishes to commend the Subcommittee for its ongoing concern to promote effective solid waste management and especially for its leadership on an issue that this country can no longer afford to neglect: the need for energy and materials recovery from solid waste.

The 200 million tons of municipal refuse collected each year in this country has the energy value of 290 million barrels of low sulfur oil or 800,000 barrels per day. This is equivalent to approximately 5% of current U.S. domestic oil consumption, or 17% of our total oil imports, or about 2/3 of our former direct imports from the Arab countries. The total U.S. municipal refuse collection, if converted to energy at normal efficiency, could generate about 14,000 megawatts of electricity-6% of total U.S. electric production. Clearly, this domestically abundant clean energy source must be tapped now-particularly with the energy crisis upon us and likely to remain with us, at the very least, for the remainder of this decade.

Both Europe and the Far East have been relying upon this clean energy source for over twenty years-and solving their solid waste disposal problems, as well. Von Roll, a leading Swiss engineering firm for which Wheelabrator-Frye Inc. is the U.S. licensee, has 88 systems now in operation-many for more than 10 years-with an additional 50 such systems under construction around the world. Both Europe and Japan encountered the problems of refuse disposal and high-cost energy before the United States and have responded by developing refuse-to-energy systems that are highly reliable energy producers and environmentally clean. Frankfurt, West Germany produces 7 percent of its electrical energy from such systems while the City of Amsterdam, Neth., produces 6 percent. A current total of sixteen (16) West German power plants use the steam, or super heated water, from refuse-to-energy plants to power turbine generators in the production of electricity. . . . A representative list of Wheelabrator/Von Roll world-wide installations follows: