Thermonic Electric

Thermonic Electric Green Power System (TEPS) is a Municipal Solid Wastes (MSW) system that converts MSW into power. MSW is the second largest source of biomass power, generating more than 2000 MW of electricity and providing steam for industrial uses. More than 526,060 metric tons (580,000 tons) of municipal waste are generated in the United States each day, with three-quarters or more of this total going to landfills. With landfills nearing capacity, charging higher costs, and adopting stricter regulations, many localities have turned to waste-to-energy (WTE) systems such as Thermonic Electrics TEPS as a disposal alternative. Approximately 70 percent of the waste disposed of in landfills is biomass material, including food waste, waste paper, cardboard and wood waste. An estimated 15%-20% of municipal waste is burned for energy. Several industry sources have predicted that from one-third to one-half of the nation's municipal waste could be burned for energy by 2010.

It is Municipal Solid Waste - what you put in your trash can or on the curb for pick-up by the trash truck. When it is finally delivered to a TEPS plant, it is a compacted mixture of:

Note that some the items above are not supposed to be in municipal waste, but small amounts of them find their way into the trash can.

The larger items like furniture and appliances are usually collected separately and some are removed for re-cycling. A few make it all the way to the landfill or plant. If they do, they are refused and the hauler removes them from the site.

There are four major types: Construction and Demolition (C&D) Waste, Medical Waste, Hazardous Waste, and Radioactive Waste. They are described below.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines C&D waste as "the debris generated during the construction, renovation, and demolition of buildings, roads, and bridges". C&D materials often contain bulky, heavy materials that include:

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines Medical Waste as "all waste materials generated at health care facilities, such as hospitals, clinics, physician's offices, dental practices, blood banks, and veterinary hospitals/clinics, as well as medical research facilities and laboratories". The Medical Waste tracking Act of 1988 defines medical waste as "any solid waste that is generated in the diagnosis, treatment, or immunization of human beings or animals, in research pertaining thereto, or in the production or testing of biologicals." This definition includes, but is not limited to:

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines Hazardous Waste as "a waste with properties that make it dangerous or potentially harmful to human health or the environment". The universe of hazardous wastes is large and diverse. Hazardous wastes can be liquids, solids, contained gases, or sludges. They can be the by-products of manufacturing processes or simply discarded commercial products, like cleaning fluids or pesticides.

Radioactive waste is waste from mining radioactive ore, producing reactor fuel, operating reactors, and using radioactive materials in research, industry, and medicine. It falls into several categories, including:

high-level radioactive waste - radioactive waste that left in a nuclear reactor after the nuclear fuel has been consumed
low-level radioactive waste - (medicine) radioactive waste consisting of objects that have been briefly exposed to radioactivity (as in certain medical tests)

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Green power is a subset of renewable energy made up of those renewable energy resources and technologies that provide the highest environmental benefit. The agency illustrates the concept with the following figure:

Solar
Wind
Geothermal
Biogas
Biomass
Low-impact small hydroelectric sources

It's a judgment call. Under the precise US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) definition of Green Power, our plants don't make the cut because MSW is not on the EPA's list of defined sources. MSW is, however, about 72% biomass, which is on the EPA list.

We believe that although our plants do not meet the precise definition, they do make a significant contribution to the Green Power concept.

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), renewable energy generally refers to electricity supplied from renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power, geothermal, hydropower, and various forms of biomass. These energy sources are considered renewable sources because they are continuously replenished on the Earth.

Refuse-derived fuel (RDF) consists largely of organic and combustable components of MSW such as plastics and biodegradable waste. RDF processes typically begin with shredding MSW to finer sizes and separating non combustable and inert fraction. Many variations of the process have been developed, each of which has certain advantages. All can benefit from TEPS heavy-duty components such as slow speed primary shredders, screeners, conveyors, picking stations, magnetic separators, water tanks, and secondary and tertiary grinders to assure specific product size.

The United States does not yet have statutes or regulations that define MSW as a renewable, although the US Environmental Protection Agency does say that

"Because no new fuel sources are used other than the waste that would otherwise be sent to landfills, MSW is often considered a renewable power source."

Other national governments do have statutes or regulations that define the organic (biomass) fraction of MSW as renewable.

The view that the 72% biomass fraction is more relevant than the plastics, metals, glass, and other miscellaneous components is gaining in official recognition. In 2008, the Integrated Waste Association (a US association) reported on its web site that twenty-three states and the District of Columbia, so far, have defined waste-to-energy as renewable power, including: