Cogeneration in a solid-wastes power-station:
a case-study
Marcelo R. de Holanda
a
, Jose
Â
A. Perrella Balestieri
a,
*
a
Energy Department, Sa
Ä
o Paulo State University, PO Box 205, 12500-000, Guaratingueta
Â
, SP, Brazil
Abstract
Nowadays, natural gas is viewed as the solution to the problem of energy supply for Latin
America, Europe and North America for the next few decades; Brazil is increasingly becom-
ing dependent upon the Bolivian natural-gas supply Ð many industries and some entrepre-
neurs are deciding to construct industrial cogeneration systems and new thermal power-
stations burning natural gas because of its low environmental impact and attractive price.
However, natural gas is a ®nite resource: this will cause, in the future, an increase of its unit
price. This paper details questions involved in the energy generation and presents solid-waste
burning as a possible alternative fuel for the future, especially in the context of cogeneration
practice in which the thermal and electric energy are used primarily for the industries located
in an industrial district. Two cogeneration schemes are proposed for the burning of municipal
solid wastes, associated or not with natural gas, and their technical and economic feasibilities
are examined. # 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
In several countries, the energy supply has been discussed in terms of feasible
options for the medium and long terms. Hydroelectric power-stations cannot be
considered in some countries because there are insucient river falls or ¯ows to
warrant either being ®nancially attractive or providing an economic return on the
investment. Also nuclear generation is being rejected by many environmentalists.
Natural gas has been claimed to be the best solution for power generation because
of its low pollutant emissions and its relatively large availability for the next few
Applied Energy 63 (1999) 125±139
www.elsevier.com/locate/apenergy
0306-2619/99/$ - see front matter # 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S0306-2619(99)00022-7
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +55-12-525-2800, ext. 144; Fax: +55-12-525-2466.
E-mail address: perrella@feg.unesp.br (J.A.P. Balestieri)