UK – New waste technologies – a magic bullet?: new report published

A new report has been published which explores the viability of advanced thermal treatment of MSW in the UK.



The UK needs to make a step change in waste management to meet challenging EU law, and improve the resource efficiency of the UK economy. This report examines how great a role “new” advanced thermal technologies can play.



Given the right regulatory and policy framework, a wide range of waste management technologies can be adopted to transform the UK’s recycling and recovery rates. But will “new” processes be a magic bullet, or will the UK need to rely on conventional processes for the foreseeable future?



The report, commissioned by the Environmental Services Training and Education Trust (ESTET) and prepared by Fichtner provides objective information to local authorities and others making decisions in waste management. It analyses a range of advanced thermal technologies, identifies barriers to their effective implementation, and the action required to overcome them.



Summary



The UK government is committed to reducing the quantity of waste going to landfill to meet the requirements of the landfill directive. Practical and financial considerations limit the quantity of waste that can be re-used, recycled or composted.



Thermal treatment will therefore play a role in the achievement of landfill diversion targets. There is considerable interest in new ways to dispose of waste using alternative conversion technologies, particularly gasification and pyrolysis. Gasification and pyrolysis are established processes but are not widely deployed for the thermal treatment of residual municipal solid waste (RMSW). There is a general perception that pyrolysis and gasification technologies have many advantages over combustion, are proven and that they are widespread in Continental Europe.



These perceived advantages include higher recycling rates, lower emissions, higher energy efficiencies, lower costs, smaller footprints and reduced visual impact. They are also said to be more suited to small capacity projects. Few of these perceptions are based on hard evidence. The information available on gasification and pyrolysis technologies for the thermal treatment of waste is often incomplete and based on widely varying assumptions, so comparisons between different technologies on a consistent and common basis are very difficult. Fichtner was therefore commissioned to assess the commercial viability of gasification and pyrolysis technologies for the processing of RMSW to help those seeking to procure a commercial waste management service in the UK.



The assessment starts with a review of the main steps involved in preliminary screening of technologies for a project including a review of uncertainties and their management. Different gasification and pyrolysis technologies are then compared against each other and against a benchmark modern combustion technology. Impediments to the further development of gasification and pyrolysis technologies for the treatment of RMSW in the UK are identified. Potential areas for further development are also suggested.



This review concludes that the commercial application of gasification and pyrolysis technologies for the treatment of RMSW is not widespread in the UK or in Europe. Only a few plants operate at a commercial scale. The risks associated with using less developed technologies for the treatment of waste are considered to be higher than for more established technologies.



The development of the gasification or pyrolysis technology is not the only challenge in striving for an improved thermal process. To be commercially successful, the technology must be incorporated into a complete solution that is better in overall terms than that achievable with technologies that are already mature. In comparing technologies, all components of the process (pre-treatment, thermal conversion, solid residue generation and syngas utili