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Cost data for mass burn facilities are summarized in this subsection. More detailed information is provided in Exhibit L
Mass Burn: Field Erected
Most field-erected mass burn plants generate electricity only. The average size of the 68 facilities for which useful data are available is 1,200 tons per day of design capacity (with a range of 750-3,000 tons per day). Figure 5.2 summarizes the capital cost estimates for the 68 electricity generating plants(3). The average capital cost is $106,000 per ton per day of design capacity, with a range of $30,000-$210,000.
In some studies, facilities were not differentiated by the form of energy produced; instead, all field-erected mass burn units were grouped according to the calendar years in which construction began and ended. The capital costs reported in those studies range from $21,000 to $114,000 per daily ton of design capacity (Kiser, 1990).
Figure 5.3 shows the O&M cost estimates for the electricity-only mass burn plants for which data are available. The average O&M cost is $26.50 per ton of MSW processed, with a range of $9 to $48 per ton. Figures 5.4 and 5.5 provide estimates of capital and O&M costs for 20 steam/electricity plants. Exhibit I also provides data on plants that produce steam only. Capital costs are lower for those facilities than for electricity-producing plants, but O&M costs are not.
Mass Burn: Modular
Figure 5.6 summarizes the capital cost estimates for 11 modular steam and electricity generating plants that have an average capacity of 243 tons per day. The average capital cost is $95,100 per ton of design capacity per day.
Figure 5.7 shows estimated operation and maintenance (O&M) costs for the modular plants for which data are available. The average O&M cost for the facilities is $32 per ton of MSW processed, with a range of $21 to $42 per ton. Exhibit I presents costs for 34 modular mass burn plants that produce steam only, and for 4 plants that produce only electricity. In general, the steam-only plants are smaller in capacity Manan those that produce electricity. The average capital costs are lower for the steam-only plants, but the O&M costs are not. Tipping fees average $49.79 for the steam/electricity plants, and $25 for the steam-only plants.
Figure 5.2
FIELD ERECTED MASS BURN-ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION PLANTS
EFFECT OF PLANT CAPACITY ON CAPITAL INVESTMENT(a)
Figure 5.4
FIELD-ERECTED MASS BURN - STEAM/ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION PLANTS
EFFECT OF PLANT CAPACITY ON CAPITAL INVESTMENT(a)
Figure 5.6
MODULAR MASS BURN - STEAM/ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION PLANTS
EFFECT OF PLANT CAPACITY ON CAPITAL INVESTMENT(a)
Environmental Releases
This subsection presents the results of a life-cycle analysis of emissions. The bases are the same as those used for calculating the energy balance.
Air
Air emissions from selected new mass burn facilities are summarized in Table 5.2. Air emissions from all the steps of an integrated strategy using mass burn are shown in the subsection on integrated strategies.
Water
The largest potential source of water pollution from mass burning is the leachate from the landfilled ash and scrubber solids. These emissions are quantified in the section on landfills. No data on water emissions from the front-end or boiler operations of the mass burn plant were found. Those emissions are sometimes fed into the boiler for combustion or discharged to a treatment plant. For example, SEMASS, a shred-and-burn RDF plant, is a zero-discharge plant because it consumes all the process waste water and sewers only waste water from the bathrooms and showers (see Appendix B).
Land
The residue from mass burning includes:
-OR-
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