Germany: High-Tech Processing Plant turns garbage into fuel?

I haven't seen any news stories about this but some photos on Getty Images shows a plant in Germany turning garbage into flammable pellets with the same energy as brown coal.
It seems like a much better idea than filling up landfills.


BERLIN - JUNE 1: A technician oversees garbage on a conveyer belt at a waste processing center on its inaugural day June 1, 2005 in Berlin, Germany. The high-tech center, run by the companies Alba and Berliner Stadtreinigungsbetriebe (BSR), is among the most modern in Europe and converts garbage into flammable pellets with a similar energy value as brown coal. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)


BERLIN - JUNE 1: A technician holds a tray of pellets created from processed garbage at a waste processing center on its inaugural day June 1, 2005 in Berlin, Germany. The high-tech center, run by the companies Alba and Berliner Stadtreinigungsbetriebe (BSR), is among the most modern in Europe and converts garbage into flammable pellets with a similar energy value as brown coal. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Getty

Can anyone who speaks German scan the German news sites for any more information on this?

That is so awsome! Using garbage as fuel is a great idea. It would solve alot of our energy problems. It does seem a little far fetched that garbage could be used as fuel.

I wonder how good it would actually work. Assuming that ALL kinds of garbage get put into those pellets. Theres bound to be some that would be heat resistant due to the composition.

Wouldn't burning garbage just put the same kind of pollution into the air as coal? Because I know how bad stuff can be (maybe styrofoam) when you throw random stuff into a camp fire.

OK, I´ve looked up the MPS system of Alba and the BSR. I will translate what I believe is most important. The quoted text can be accessed via THIS link.

1st, there are two of these MPS (Mechanisch-Physikalische Stabilisierungsanlage, or Mechanic-physical Stabilisation plant). Both are scheduled to achieve full activity within the next year. The plants are an reaction to a german law that gets active this year. This law says (among other things) that no untreated garbage may be dumped anymore. The burning pellets are only a "side product" of the whole recycling system. The plant can process over 70 different types of materials, mostly found in normal garbage and non-poisonous industry waste.

The first two steps are purely mechanical and consist of various magnet, sieves, baths, mixers to split up the different materials (mostly into iron-metallic waste, non-iron metallic waste, non-reactive or nonusable waste, and the subsidiary fuel materials)

Next step is the RTO (Regenerative Thermische Oxidation, or Regenerative Thermic Oxidation). With heats of 150°-300°C the now non-metallic waste is dried, the produced gasses are directly transferred to combustion chambers.

Step 4 is the "Sichtung" (can be translated as sifting or sorting). With further mechanical-physical techniques the waste is divided into the non-usable parts, the top-burning waste and the waste with medium burning characteristics.

Step 5 is the conversion to hard pellets of good burning quality and 2nd degree softer pellets (the ones from the picture in the first post). The energy value is 14-18 MJ/kg, in comparison to 17 MJ/kg for brown coal and 33-35 MJ/kg for hard coal. These pellets are used for power- and heating plants called "Zuckerkraftwerk" (Sugar power plant), because another waste product from sugar production is used as "glue" for the pellets.

Today, about 56% of german/berlin household garbage is in one or the way recycled. The goal is to erase the need for ANY sort of waste dump for household waste by 2020.

The exhausts do not pollute the air very dramatically, because german technology is not only leading in recycling knowhow, but also in filter systems, although a certain pollution cant be neglected.


PS, its also possible to extract usable crude oil from certain types of plastics, but the technology is not energy efficient yet, and may never be (sadly).

[edit on 6-6-2005 by Lonestar24]

Originally posted by Lonestar24
OK, I´ve looked up the MPS system of Alba and the BSR. I will translate what I believe is most important. The quoted text can be accessed via THIS link.

Thank you for the detailed information on the process and the background information on Germany.
It was very much appreciated.

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