Feedstock as an Untapped Source of Energy

Waste-to-Energy Plants (WTE) have highly efficient technologies to use municipal solid waste, rather than coal, oil or natural gas, to generate electricity. The basics of WTE plants are described in previous articles of this series.

Waste-to-energy plants are able to exploit the value in what others consider waste. These plants recover the thermal energy contained in garbage and produce steam (that may be sold directly to industrial customers), or used to move big turbines for electricity generation. This way an untapped source of energy present in waste is reutilized.

Feedstock as a Source of Alternative Energy
Besides waste generated by cities and towns all over the world, WTE can use waste generated by other entities such as agricultural and industrial operations. This article will deal with feedstock as a fuel for WTE
Agricultural "Garbage"

There is a huge source of waste in agricultural operations. Huge amounts of crop residues are produced every year in the world. Think of Rice husks, that is, the residue left for getting the good white rice we eat some days a week. There is a 25% loss in rice processing plants. Also, there are other agricultural leftovers such as sugar cane bagasse, coconut husks and shells, cereal straw, oat husks, etc. These residues could be used to power-up WTE plants.

Animal Waste
Animal wastes that can be used as a sources of alternative biomass energy. Poultry manures may be the most common animal residues. This source of waste (poultry industry) is highly contaminant. It has been used to fertilize agricultural lands but due to recent environmental legislation waste management is now required. Poultry manure could be an excellent fuel for WTE plants. The most plausible course of action for this "garbage" would be to convert this biomass into biogas by an anaerobic process. The biogas produced could be used for steam or electricity generation.

Forestry Residues
When plantations are thinned, roads are cleaned of trees and weeds, or in wood processing factories (sawdust, off-cuts, bark and woodchip rejects) there is a lot of material leftover that could be used as fuel for WTE plants. This waste material is currently wasted (what an irony!). However it can be used as biomass to generate biogas to produce steam and move electricity-generating turbines.
Waste-to-energy plants are highly efficient operations that harness the unused source of energy contained in a variety of wastes. As shown agricultural residues can be an excellent source of fuel for WTE plants