Page 223 - Energy from Toxic Organic Waste for Heat and Power Generation

Economic Factors for Toxic Waste Management 201

Similarly, there are 89 waste-to-energy plants operating in 27 states of
the United States of America. These plants are able to process about 13%
of America’s waste, or about 95,000 tons each day. Waste-to-energy facilities
generate about 2500 MW of electricity to meet the power needs of nearly
2.3 million houses, and the facilities serve the waste disposal needs of more
than 36 million people. The $10 billion waste-to-energy industry employs
more than 6000 workers with annual wages in excess of $400 million.
Biomass ranks the fourth as an energy resource. It fulfills approximately
14% of the world’s energy needs and 35% of the energy needs of the devel-
oping countries [7]. The biofuels such as biodiesel, biogas, ethanol, methanol,
diethyl ether, and dimethyl ether can be produced from low-input biomass,
either grown on agriculturally peripheral land or from biomass from house-
hold wastes [8–11]. The environmental benefits and the biofuel produc-
tion will be much superior, if it will be produced from food-based wastes
[12]. Biomass can be divided into more specific terminology, with different
terms for different end uses such as for heating, cooling, power (electricity)
generation, and as a transportation fuel. Only a part of the biomass can be
supplied for energy use, due to technical, ecological, and economic reasons.
For example, only less than two-thirds of the lumbar grown in Germany is
used for biomass every year [13]. The total bioenergy potential in Germany
is equivalent to 56 million tons of crude oil. This would be enough to meet
50% of the total automotive fuel consumption needs of Germany, including
air traffic. In the European Union, enough biomass is available in the form
of waste to produce up to 115 million tons of automotive fuels every year
[14]. Expansion of biofuels production and their use also raises some con-
cerns, most importantly due to their diverting land away from use for food,
biodiversity-preservation.
Another good example of energy from waste is the Royal Government
of Cambodia, which is very keen addressing issues related to an adequate
supply of energy at affordable prices. Cambodia is quite rich in biomass, and
therefore, there is a large scope for market for biomass energy. The per cap-
ita energy consumption of Cambodia is about 48 kWh per annum, which
is basically from the conventional energy, and Cambodia ranks among the
lowest in energy consumption in the Asian region [15]. Only 12% of the
households have access to electricity. The total installed capacity of electric
grid is of about 150 MW. Cambodia has no fossil fuel resources and it is a
mesh importer of fuels. Due to lack of adequate infrastructure and regula-
tion, rural population of Cambodia pays very high prices for electricity that
is supplied by private diesel generator operators. According to the data in