title: Energy recovery from New York City municipal solid wastes.
abstract: This work was part of a major study that examined the policy and technology implications of alternatives for managing the municipal solid wastes (MSW) of New York City. At this time, of the 4.1 million metric tons of MSW collected by the City annually, 16.6% are recycled, 12.4% are combusted in Waste-to-Energy (WTE) plants, and the remaining 71% are landfilled. Despite the heterogeneity of organic materials in MSW, the composite molecular structure can be approximated by the organic compound C6H10O4. A formula was derived that allows the prediction of the heating value of MSW as a function of moisture and glass/metal content and compares well with experimentally derived values. The performance of a leading Waste-to-Energy plant that utilises suspension firing of shredded MSW, processes one million tons of MSW per year, and generates a net of 610 kWh/metric ton was examined. The results of this study showed that WTE processing of the MSW reduces fossil fuel consumption and is environmentally superior to landfilling.
authors.affiliation: Earth Engineering Center and Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA. njt1@columbia.edu
authors.forename: Nickolas J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Themelis
authors.forename: Young Hwan
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Mark H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Brady
mesh_terms: D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D004736:Energy-Generating Resources; D005579:Fossil Fuels; D015394:Molecular Structure; D009519:New York City; D009930:Organic Chemicals; D012037:Refuse Disposal
chemical_list: D005579:Fossil Fuels; D009930:Organic Chemicals