18th May 2012

SRF: Fuelling the Future

Kathryn WarrenSenior ConsultantWaste Management & Resource EfficiencyAEA

Agenda – all in 20 minutes!

+ A personal welcome

+ Setting the scene

+ Aims of our research

+ Methodology applied

+ Outcomes

+ What next?

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A personal welcome

+ Senior Consultant @ AEA in Waste Management and Resource Efficiency

+ Focus on

- waste derived fuel- EfW- waste procurement

+ Cardiff based

- UK/US remit

+ Delivering EfW and organics procurement support for a number of private waste companies

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www.aeat.co.uk

Setting the SceneSetting the Scene

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Current Situation

+ Increasing landfill tax

+ Growth in MBT

+ Rise in SRF production

+ Zero waste policies

+ Financial melt down7

The Energy Situation

+ Commitment to CO2 Reduction

+ Commitment to Renewable Energy

+ Ageing Nuclear Capacity

+ High gas and oil prices

+ Dwindling home production of oil and gas

+ Rising population

+ Equates to a potential Energy Crisis

- Extracting energy from waste seen to be a positive contribution!

- EfW, Biogas, Solid Recovered Fuels

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Fuel inputs

How much waste derived fuel is available?

What are the current markets for for WDF in the UK

How much energy could we recover from the UK waste stream

What would be the economics of using more WDF?

What are the opportunities for Fossil Fuel Displacement?

Setting the scene

Energy outputs

How much process heat do we use in England?

How does that compare with fuel available?

How could industry use WDFs?

How would this work financially?

Our approach

Review of Waste Derived Fuels

+ Top down approach:- Overall arisings- Potential WDF within overall arisings- WDF included RDF/SRF, Waste wood, forestry residues and agricultural

residues

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UK Waste arisings

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Waste type Total (million tonnes)

MSW 31.5

C&I 67.3

C&D 101.0

Dry agricultural residues 13.3

Forestry residues 7.8

TOTAL 220.7

Potential WDF

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MaterialTonnes

available (Mt)

Energy potential (GJ)

RDF/SRF from MSW and C&I

(2015)11,482,884 125,880,748

Waste Wood (2009) 2,200,000 33,000,000

Forestry Residues (2009) 1,987,000 18,677,800

Agricultural Residues (2009) 3,012,000 54,216,000

TOTAL 18,681,884 231,774,548

Current use of WDF - SRF

+ Estimated 800,000 already produced

+ A further 2.5 million tonnes from future MBT/MHT plants

+ Other than EfW, other predominant user is cement kilns

+ Finite capacity of cement kilns

+ Large quantities exported

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Current use of WDF - wood

+ Markets for virgin untreated wood have increased, due to expansion of biomass heating

+ Markets for waste wood not developed in the same way

+ Examples of WID compliant biomass plants, but most still focussed on clean wood and biomass

+ Increasing exports of waste wood

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Opportunities for fossil fuel displacement

+ Depends very much on energy conversion technology

+ Technologies are limited in the range of fuel types they can accept

+ Fuel quality, properties and composition need to be understood

+ Increasingly fuels are produced to a specification, as opposed to mass burn

+ Unlikely that most raw materials would be suitable for direct use in an energy recovery process

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UK Heat DemandUK Heat Demand

Overall Heat Demand

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Sector GW Heat load

Industrial 13.7

Domestic 147.8

Commercial Offices 4.6

Government buildings 3.3

Education 3.3

Health 1.3

Others 20.7

Total (all Sectors) 194.7

WDF and Heat mapping

+ Mapped sites producing waste using GIS

+ Calculated energy resource at each site, using assumed CV of waste type

+ Identified large single point heat loads

+ Sized potential EfW plants based on energy available and heat demand

+ Selection of sites analysed further for feasibility and costs

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Heat mapping

Large Heat Users

+ 94% of waste sites mapped had point heat loads within 20 mile radius

+ Suitability refined to include only:- Large and medium industrial sites- Established district heating schemes

+ Total heat load of these sites estimated at 6.75 GWth

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Heat demand by sector

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Matching suitable technology

Technology Type

Range of tonnage of waste used

(tonnes/year)

Maturity of Technology

Size range of Technology

(MW)

Heat only plant (Combustion)

500 – 100,000Mature

technology0.25 – 70

MWth

CHP (standard steam cycle)

15,000 tonnes upwards

Mature technology

1 MWe upwards

Gasification and pyrolysis (Heat or

CHP)600 -100,000

Development & Commercialisati

on

1 MWe upwards

Reference sites chosen

Scale Sector PlantLocatio

n

Waste Feedstock Available within 20

mile radius.

Approximate plant size

(MW)

SmallFood

Manufacturing

Heat only Y&H 1600 tonnes/yr 0.5 MWth

Large Engineering Heat only SE39,000

tonnes/yr11.5 MWth

Large Engineering CHP SE39,000

tonnes/yr6.5 MWth / 2.5

MWe

Large ChemicalsCHP

conversion

NW50,000

tonnes/yr7.5 MWth / 3.5

MWe

Technical analysis results

  Small Heat Only

Large Heat Only

Large CHP

Large CHP

Conversion

Feedstock throughputt/yr

1,600 39,000 39,000 50,000

Feedstock consumptionkg/hr

215 5,250 5,250 6,160

Equivalent WDF thermal inputMWhth

4,250 104,000 104,000 132,000

Annual thermal output MWhth

3,400 83,200 46,800 59,400

Annual electrical outputMWhe

0 0 18,700 23,800

Natural gas savingsNm3/yr

380,300 9,286,400 5,223,600 9,953,000

Imported electricity savingsMWhe

0 0 18,700 -4,200

Financial analysis results

 £/year Small Heat Only

Large Heat Only Large CHP Large CHP

ConversionTotal energy costs

savings £181,000 £4,420,000

£4,980,000

£4,930,000

Total income from incentives £46,900 £416,000 £318,000 £278,000

Additional O&M £28,400 £698,000 £965,000 £940,000

Total financial benefit £199,500 £4,138,000

£4,333,000 £4,268,000

Simple payback years 6.4 5.7 7.2 6.0

Simple total financial benefit

(20 years duration)

£2,710,000

£59,210,000

£55,260,00

0

£59,900,000

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What are the barriers?What are the barriers?

Project Development Barriers 1

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Barrier ImpactWaste Incineration Directive

• Increased combustion requirements – i.e higher temperatures, correct residence times• Requirement for flue gas treatment • Requirement for flue gas monitoring equipment

Planning Permission

• Schemes will require planning permission• Higher requirement for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)• Likelihood of public opposition

Permitting Requirements

• A WID scheme will either be a Part A(1) scheme regulated by the Environment Agency or a Part A(2) regulated by the Local Authority• As the sites are importing waste – they will need to be compliant with waste permitting elements • Smaller sites may not currently require an environmental permit

Technology Availability

• There is a limited amount of technology available – particularly at smaller scales.• Technically possible to have smaller plant, but at a cost

Project Development Barriers 2

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Barrier Impact

Technology Cost

• The cost of the equipment particularly the flue gas treatment add significant cost (flue gas treatment c. £250,000 for smaller schemes).• Cost of this equipment is not linear – therefore making small schemes expensive.

Operating Costs

• Cost associated with ongoing permitting/licensing• Ash disposal costs.

Site suitability • The site needs to have space to accept solid fuel, store in the appropriate manner (controlling odour etc).• On-site solutions only likely to be suitable for only larger industrial sites

Feed stock supply risk

• EfW schemes would have a life span of 20 – 25 years - there needs to be reassurance that the feedstock will be available over this period.

Tackling perception of EfW

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So, what next?So, what next?

What actions are needed?

+ More work with regulators to progress end of waste status for wider range of waste derived fuels?

+ Work with traditional fossil fuel users to explore opportunities for using waste derived fuels

+ Support to waste processors to understand fuel requirements?

+ Wider implementation of fuel standards?

+ WID – Why so expensive?

+ Learning from Europe and their use of WDFs?

+ Open debate and discussion ……

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Any questions?

I’m here all day ….Kathryn Warren

Senior Consultant

Waste Management & Resource Efficiency

07837 293929

Kathryn.warren@aeat.co.uk

www.aeat.co.uk