Waste to energy is a process which generates electricity and/or heat from the incineration of waste. It’s considered a form of renewable energy and it’s an effective way of treating waste to save the majority of it going to landfill.
Many businesses have been paying greater attention to their carbon footprint and impact on the environment in recent years, and harnessing waste to energy methods is one effective way to reduce your company’s impact on the environment. If you’re looking to find out more about the waste to energy process and the benefits it can offer, read on for our handy guide.
Turning waste into energy
The conversion of waste to energy takes place in a large scale plant and there are several different methods which can be used.
Incineration
This is the most common method used to turn waste into energy and it involves burning the waste at a very high temperature (known as thermal treatment). The heat generated from this process is then used to create energy.
Depolymerization
Put simply, this process converts organic compounds from waste into fossil fuels, using thermal decomposition in the presence of water. It breaks down waste materials into crude oil products due to the high temperatures, which initiates a process known as hydrous pyrolysis.
Gasification
This method breaks down waste in a low oxygen environment at high heat. These conditions cause the waste to break down at a molecular level, which produces a substance known as synthesis gas. This gas can then be used to generate electricity or heat.
The benefits of waste to energy
Converting waste into energy has many benefits, one of the main aspects being that it saves large amounts of waste from heading to landfill. It can take decades for waste to breakdown at a landfill site and the decomposition produces harmful gases like methane and carbon dioxide.
It’s also an affordable way of producing energy, and it’s much better for the environment as it saves the need to mine more fossil fuels.
If you want to know more about harnessing the power of waste to energy, get in touch with the experts at The Energy Desk. We specialise in the design and implementation of waste to energy plants on a large scale and we’ll take care of the entire process from start to finish. We can also carry out assessments to see what funding your business qualifies for, so give us a call today or visit our website to discover how we could help.