Large Steam Generating Units for the Combustion of Refuse

Abstract

"Many by-products of our economy are considered ""waste"" and are disposed of as landfill or by incineration. A shortage of landfill sites and increasingly higher fuel prices have stimulated interests in the conversion of burnable waste products into heat for process and the generation of power.

Interest in the combustion of the most widely distributed waste products, household and industrial municipal refuse, is rapidly escalating. The assembly of a large complex for power and steam production by the combustion of municipal refuse, however, is a very complex process requiring the cooperation of many governmental, private, industrial, environmental and financial entities. A number of refuse burning plants have been and are being built. Many projects are in the planning stage.

This paper reviews the background available in the combustion for steam generation of municipal refuse in shredded form on spreader stokers. This paper also provides up-to-date information regarding the design, construction, and operational status of the two large steam generating units for the combustion of municipal refuse presently being completed at the Hooker Chemical installation in Niagara Falls, New York."