Plant converts garbage into supplies of energy
Published: 02 Nov. 2009, 00:32
A construction worker and officials from the Sudokwon Landfill Site Management Corporation on Monday examine Refuse Derived Fuel, or RDF, that was produced from a plant that converts garbage into fuel. The plant, located at the Seo District, Incheon, was recently constructed and it is currently undergoing tests. By Kim Kyung-bin
The plant stands beside a 19.8-square-kilometer (213,125,426 -square-foot) landfill which is six times larger than Yeouido, Seoul. Three additional plants are scheduled to be completed by late next month.
On Monday afternoon, a crane lifted waste from trucks and dropped it into a crusher. Compacted material that remains is separated into nonflammable ironware and flammable materials such as vinyl and papers.
Combustible products are then formed into balls with a radius of 20 millimeters (0.78 inches). These are known as Refuse Derived Fuel, or RDF. The plant can produce about 200 tons of RDF a day. It is the second such facility in Korea. The first was built in October 2006 in Wonju, Gangwon. The Wonju plant makes around 80 tons of RDF a day.
The approximate amount of heat generated from one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of RDF is 4,800 kilocalories. Experts said that one-ton RDF can create energy equivalent to 500 liters (132 gallons) of petroleum.
Jeonju Paper Corporation in Jung District, central Seoul, and Energy Re-Generation Service Company within the Namdong Industrial Complex in Incheon are purchasing RDF for boiler fuel. “We are also examining waste products to sort out heavy metals once or twice a month in order to prevent environmental pollution,” said Park Jeong-hyun, an official at the Sudokwon Landfill Site Management Corporation in Incheon.
The corporation in spending 1.51 trillion won ($1.27 billion) to create an environmental ecological park on the landfill by 2017. “The project could have an economic benefit of 520.3 billion won by 2013 due to reductions of greenhouse gas emissions, replacement of crude oil imports and the cost reduction of disposing waste material,” said Oh Hwa-su, head of the Energy Resource division at the corporation.
Experts said developed countries have converted waste to energy since the 1970s.
In Italy, there is a facility that produces 110,000 tons of RDF from 200,000 tons of waste annually in the city of Parona, near Milan.
Every year, the facility creates about 115,000-megawatts of electric power. Assuming that each household uses an average of 300-kilowatts a month, the plant can serve 32,000 households a year.
There are also a number of facilities generating RDF in Japan including, the one in the city of Omuta in Fukuoka Prefecture. The facility, which is managed by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, was established in 2002 and produces 122 tons of RDF from 225 tons of waste a day.
That RDF is mostly used as a fuel for a recycling power plant in Omuta.
Last July, the Ministry of Environment revealed extensive plans to convert waste products to energy. The aim is to build environmental ecological parks at each of the 13 locations, including Busan, Gwangju, Daegu and Daejeon.
By 2013, the ministry will pour 2.16 trillion won to construct facilities that produces RDF and biogas.
“Korea, which imports about 97 percent of its energy from other countries, has had policies related to waste that were not very effective,” said Choi Byeong-kwon, head of Waste to Energy Team at the ministry. “The country has a good chance to convert waste to energy since it has a well established garbage collection system.”
Environmental engineering professor Dong Jong-in at the University of Seoul said, “Other than turning waste into energy, we also have to focus on disposing of waste properly and safely. It is necessary to gather opinions from nearby residents and local governments before constructing facilities that produce RDF.”
By Kang Chan-soo, Lee Min-yong [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.
Standards Board Policy (0/250자)