Welsh EfW policy - technology assessment of high thermal efficiency solutions. Presented by Kathryn Warren, Senior Consultant, Waste Management & Resource Efficiency. Presented at the Air & Waste Management Association’s 105th Annual Conference & Exhibition, San Antonio, June 19-22, 2012.

1. WELSH EFW POLICY
Technology Assessment of High Thermal Efficiency Solutions
Kathryn Warren – Senior Consultant
Waste Management & Resource Efficiency, AEA
AWMA 2012
A world leading
19th – 22nd June energy and climate
change consultancy
San Antonio, Texas

2. Overview …. In 20 minutes …..
+ Personal Welcome
+ Introduction to the topic
+ Aims of the research
+ Methodology applied
+ Outcomes of the work
+ Next steps
+ Lessons learned
2

3. A personal welcome
+ Kathryn Warren
- Senior Consultant @ AEA in Waste Management &
Resource Efficiency
- 7 years of waste management experience
- Focus on waste derived fuels, EfW, waste procurement
+ Role on the project
- Project Manager
+ Acknowledgements
- Welsh Government for giving permission to publish data
- AEA for their support in allowing me to be here today
3

4. My sponsor … www.aeat.co.uk

5. Our US sponsors
+ We are here exhibiting with ERG
- we acquired them in 2010
+ Come and see us on Booth #118
- ERG and AEA Technology Group
+ Franklin Associates (ERG division)
- extensive experience in all aspects of
solid waste management (over 30 years
of practice)
- integrated solid waste master plans
- full life cycle analyses of solid waste
- waste stream evaluations for local,
regional, state, and national agencies
5

6. Setting the Scene
6

7. The EU Landfill Directive
+ EU Landfill Directive – mitigating landfill’s environmental
impacts
- BMW reductions required to mitigate fugitive CH4 emissions
- Pre-treatment of landfilled materials
- Landfill waste acceptance criteria (WACs)
- Landfill design, operation, completion and closure requirements
+ BMW includes commercial and industrial wastes and
municipal waste streams
+ BMW Landfill targets for the UK
- 75% of 1995 level by 2010
- 50% of 1995 level by 2013
- 35% of 1995 level by 2020
+ Significant driver for innovation in technology solutions
7

8. The Need For Change in the UK (MSW)
60
50
Millions tonnes per annum
40 Non-biodegradable
Municipal Waste
30
20 Biodegradable Municipal Waste
Requiring Diversion
10
Biodegradable Municipal
Waste Allowed to Landfill
0
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020

9. Setting the Scene in Wales …
+ European and UK legislative drivers aim to divert
waste from landfill and encourage more
sustainable use of resources
+ The Welsh Government (WG) published its
revised National Waste Strategy (2010) –
Towards Zero Waste
+ The strategy sets a cap of 30% of residual waste
to be treated in high efficiency EfW plants
+ WG wished to establish if setting a target for
thermal conversion efficiency would be
achievable
+ Policy positions taken by WG must be based on
firm and robust evidence 9

10. About Wales
+ Part of UK
+ 3m population
+ 22 local authorities,
including a mix of
rural, urban and valley
regions
+ Devolved Government
+ Target of 70% recycling
by 2025
10

11. Research Aims
11

12. Research Aims
To inform WG Policy ….
1. To conduct a technology
review to determine which
EfW technologies are
capable of achieving a total
conversion efficiency of
60%
2. To test the feasibility of
district heating at a
number of proposed EfW
sites in Wales 12

13. Phase 1 – Technology Assessment
13

14. What technologies?
+ Assessed the current range of thermal treatment
technologies
- Combustion: mass burn, moving grate etc.
- Advanced Thermal Treatments: Gasification, Pyrolysis
+ Examined the “Prime Mover” used for energy recovery
- Looked at Steam Turbine, Gas Engine, Gas Turbine
+ Determined the efficiencies that could be achieved in “Power
only” and using CHP at differing efficiencies
14

15. WG’s definition of efficiency
Electricity
Support Out
Fuel In
EfW Process
Waste Heat Out
Fuel In (CHP only)
Conversion = [Electricity Out] + [Heat Out]
Efficiency [Waste Fuel In] + [Support Fuel In]
15

16. Combined Heat & Power
+ For a standard steam turbine
- the combustion process is used to raise steam
- steam drives turbine to generate electricity in power only
mode
- excess energy from waste heat is lost to the environment
+ Combined Heat and Power (CHP) allows increased utilization
of the embedded energy in waste
+ CHP allows ‘heat’ to be captured driving up overall efficiency
and improving environmental performance
+ The research tested the potential performance of
combustion and advanced thermal treatment technologies
using electricity only and CHP at 40%, 60% and maximum
efficiency conditions 16

17. WG’s Aspirational Efficiency Targets
+ It was proposed that different
efficiency targets should be set for EfW
facilities dependent on the EfW
technology being used
- Using research findings and current
operational data to inform this
+ The target values have been set at such
a level that an EfW facility will need to
operate in CHP mode in order to
comply
- A clear policy steer for new
developers
17

18. WG Aspirational Efficiency Targets
EfW Technology Welsh Government
Conversion Efficiency
Target
Combustion 60%
Gasification or Pyrolysis with Steam 60%
Turbine Prime Mover
Gasification of Pyrolysis with Gas Engine 50%
Prime Mover
18

19. Modeled efficiencies
+ Detailed performance modeling assessed technology
configurations
+ Determined typical net efficiency for plant producing
- Electricity only
- CHP @ 40% net efficiency
- CHP @ 60% net efficiency
- CHP @ maximum efficiency conditions
+ Combustion and ATT scenarios modeled using steam turbines
+ ATT processes (where syngas produced) also modeled using
reciprocating gas engine and gas turbine
+ Based on feedstock of 645,000 tonnes of residual waste with
net calorific value of 8.6 MJ/kg
- total MSW available in Wales for treatment by recovery 19

20. Technology Assessment
Outcomes
20

21. Performance modeling results
Technology Energy use Power 40% 60% Max CHP
Type Only CHP CHP Efficiency
Combustion Conversion efficiency power
23% 18% 13% 8%
Conversion efficiency heat
22% 47% 71%
Total conversion efficiency
23% 40% 60% 79%
Gasification Conversion efficiency power
22% 18% 12% 8%
– steam Conversion efficiency heat
22% 48% 72%
turbine Total conversion efficiency
22% 40% 60% 81%
Gasification Conversion efficiency power
– gas engine Conversion efficiency heat 23% 23% N/A 23%
Total conversion efficiency 17% N/A 29%
23% 40% N/A 52%
Gasification Conversion efficiency power
18% 18% N/A 18%
– gas turbine Conversion efficiency heat
22% N/A 35%
Total conversion efficiency
18% 40% N/A 53%
21

22. Summary of the findings
+ Technology configurations using steam
turbine to recover energy performed in
excess of the 60% target
+ Overall efficiencies of approximately 80%
are deliverable
+ The performance modelling confirmed to
the WG that a total conversion efficiency
of 60% was achievable by combustion or
gasification with a steam turbine
- A policy based on this efficiency target
(60%) would be appropriate from an
environmental and technological
perspective
22

23. Phase 2 – Achieving 60%
efficiency by district heating
23

24. Waste Infrastructure Procurement
+ None of the local authorities in Wales are large enough to
procure a residual waste treatment facility individually
+ WG has encourage the development of procurement
‘clusters’
+ 6 procurement clusters have formed, and are working
together to procure residual waste infrastructure
+ The reference sites identified by the clusters of local
authorities as potential locations for future EfW plants were
used in the next stage of the analysis
- These sites may not be actual sites that are developed in
the future
24

25. 25

26. Scenarios modelled
+ Case 1 (Municipal)
- EfW plants procured under the existing municipal residual
waste treatment programmes sized to receive only
residual municipal waste arisings for a specified area
+ Case 2 (Commercial and Industrial)
- Merchant EfW facilities handling C&I waste
+ Case 3 (Combined)
- EfW plants procured under the municipal residual waste
treatment programme sized to receive residual municipal
and C&I waste arisings
26

27. District heating feasibility
+ Indicative heat networks arrangements were
produced for each assessment case
+ The objective was to create a network that
connected the EfW facility to a sufficient
number of heat customers to achieve the target
heat demand figure
+ Where there was insufficient demand large
principal heat users, the heat network also
drew upon smaller heat loads (e.g. industrial
estates) identified through use of the DECC UK
Heat Map
27

28. Wales Heat Demand Map
28

29. Key Heat Loads
29

30. Heat Mapping Outcomes
30

31. Heat Network Sizing Results
Procurement Case Target Heat Available Heat Available Demand
Group Demand (MWh/y) Demand (MWh/y) exceeds Target
Heat output?
North Wales 1.MSW 187,000 255,500 TRUE
2. C&I 53,200 255,500 TRUE
3. Combined 643,900 429,800 FALSE
Mid Wales 1.MSW 31,100 31,900 TRUE
2. C&I 62,900 44,400 FALSE
3. Combined 232,000 44,400 FALSE
South West 1.MSW 204,300 1,100,000 TRUE
Wales 2. C&I 502,900 394,200 FALSE
3. Combined 755,700 1,100,000 TRUE
Tomorrow’s 1.MSW 37,400 51,400 TRUE
Valley 2. C&I 49,000 69,700 TRUE
3. Combined 215,200 95,000 FALSE
Heads of the 1.MSW 22,100 21,800 TRUE
Valleys 2. C&I 54,000 73,900 TRUE
3. Combined 76,100 80,700 TRUE
Project Green 1.MSW 201,100 225,900 TRUE
2. C&I 174,000 225,900 TRUE
3. Combined 818,700 276,300 FALSE
31

32. Heat network findings
+ Case 1
- all six procurement groups were able to develop EfW CHP
facilities capable of meeting the conversion efficiency
target when plants were sized for MSW only
+ Case 2
- four our of six of proposed Merchant facilities to meet the
efficiency target. Two were found not able to secure
sufficient demand for heat in order to meet the
conversion efficiency target.
+ Case 3
- only two out of six schemes had access to sufficient heat
demand to meet the target conversion efficiency
32

33. Analysis of results
+ Schemes failing to meet the conversion efficiency target
could attain only 19% to 67% of the heat output required to
achieve the target
+ This indicates that the development of a single EfW facility
large enough to accept both MSW and C&I arisings for a
procurement area could lead to facilities being developed
that would not be able to access sufficient heat demand
+ There would not be sufficient heat users in the vicinity to
utilise the heat produced effectively
+ This suggests smaller and a more distributed network of
facilities is more likely to meet the target, and is thus a
potential new development for WG policy
33

34. Costing the heat networks
+ Network costs varied significantly between schemes
+ The cost of distribution for heat it was found that
costs for the schemes modelled can vary between
£12 and £142 per megawatt-hour of heat supplied
+ Thus, network costs for schemes that met the
conversion efficiency target were between £0.9m
and £23m
34

35. Costing heat networks – Example 1
1
35

36. Costing heat networks – Example 2
4
1
3
2
36

37. Conclusions
37

38. Conclusions
+ EfW schemes proposed in Wales should be able to access
sufficient heat demand in order to meet the aspirational
efficiency target
+ Procurement hubs must carefully consider the size of plants
they ‘buy’
- those designed to treat both MSW and C&I waste may be
too large to access sufficient local heat demand
+ WG have yet to implement mandatory targets for EfW
conversion efficiencies
- however, they remain confident that high efficiency EfW
facilities are the best option for Wales to treat its residual
waste
38

39. Next steps
+ Challenge is to secure the heat user in high efficiency
scenarios
- Municipalities, Waste Management Companies,
Developers all have a role to play in securing these
+ Further analysis required to ensure that sufficient heat use
can be identified and is deliverable
- Case by case basis
- Need to develop a Business Case for future sites / facilities
+ WG need to facilitate joined up thinking between waste
procurement projects, planning authorities and waste
management companies to make this a reality
- Lessons to be learned fro the rest of the UK!
39

40. Lessons for the US
+ Petrol / Diesel / Energy prices are on the
up!
- Will renewable energy get a boost?
+ Evidence that 60% total conversion
efficiency can be achieved
- Will US decision-makers make this
part of their strategies (sustainable
solutions)?
+ Size does matter!
+ Location of plants is key if heat recovery
is to be realised
- Need to build this into local planning
decisions and regional strategies 40

42. Thank you!
42

43. Come and see us …. Booth #118
Adam Read Shelly Schneider
Practice Director - AEA Franklin Associates (ERG)
Waste Management & Resource Waste Management & Resource
Efficiency Efficiency
cell: 0044 7968 707 239 tel: 913-800-8276
email: adam.read@aeat.co.uk email: Shelly.Schneider@erg.com
web: www.aeat.co.uk web: www.aeat.co.uk