RECYCLING MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE AT POWER-AND-HEATING PLANTS OF ST. PETERSBURG

The article reviews the essential problem of municipal solid waste (MSW) management. We consider the possibility of involving combined heat and power plants in energy recovery from MSW using the example of an operational cogeneration plant in St. Petersburg. We suggest using the gasification technology on hard household waste, which results in production of synthesis gas that can be used as a fuel in the steam cycle. To assess technical performance of the heating units, we carried out a simulation of the cycle arrangement and subsequent heat-and-mass balance calculation by means of Boiler Designer software. The equipment can run either at the pressure of 10 MPa and the temperature of 525 °С or at the pressure of 14 MPa and the temperature of 540 °С. The results of analysis show that the options are equivalent when the plant is operating in the heat-extraction mode, but it is more efficient to use the steam of higher service conditions in the 15-year period, until the price difference of the equipment is lower or equals 139.54 million rubles. There is a list of requirements imposed on an industrial site of the operational power plant for installing new energy sources. The Severnaya and the Yujnaya cogeneration plants meet the acceptance criteria.