title: Technical assessment of the CLEERGAS moving grate-based process for energy generation from municipal solid waste.
abstract: A technical analysis has been completed for a commercial-scale two-stage gasification-combustion system. The CLEERGAS (Covanta Low Emissions Energy Recovery GASification) process consists of partial combustion and gasification of as-received municipal solid waste (MSW) on a moving grate producing syngas followed by full combustion of the generated syngas in an adjoining chamber and boiler. This process has been in operation since 2009 on a modified 330-tonne day(-1) waste-to-energy (WTE) line in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Material balances determined that the syngas composition is 12.8% H2 and 11.4% CO, the heating value of the gas in the gasifier section is 4098 kJ Nm(-3), and an aggregate molecular formula for the waste is C6H14.5O5. The analysis of gas measurements sampled from the Tulsa unit showed that the gasification-combustion mode fully processed the MSW at an excess air input of only 20% as compared to the 80-100% typically found in conventional WTE moving grate plants. Other important attributes of the CLEERGAS gasification-combustion process are that it has operated on a commercial scale for a period of over two years with 93% availability and utilizes a moving grate technology that is currently used in hundreds of WTE plants around the world.
authors.affiliation: Earth Engineering Center, Columbia University, USA.
authors.forename: Marcella R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Lusardi
authors.affiliation: Earth Engineering Center, City College of New York, USA.
authors.forename: McKenzie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kohn
authors.affiliation: Earth Engineering Center, Columbia University, USA.
authors.forename: Nickolas J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Themelis
authors.affiliation: Earth Engineering Center, City College of New York, USA mcastaldi@ccny.cuny.edu.
authors.forename: Marco J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Castaldi
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D004736:Energy-Generating Resources / Q000592:standards*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005740:Gases / Q000032:analysis*; D017745:Incineration; D009825:Oklahoma; D012037:Refuse Disposal / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D062611:Solid Waste / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D005740:Gases; D062611:Solid Waste
keywords: Gasification; NO
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                  reduction; large-scale; moving grate; municipal solid waste; syngas