No. 318: Efficient power generation using heat from garbage incineration (September 27, 2011)

Experiments for efficient power generation using heat from garbage incineration will start within the year. Kawasaki HeavyIndustries and Osaka Gas will conduct the experiments in collaboration with the local government of Osaka. They plan to store part of heat from garbage incineration and transport it to office buildings and generate electricity using residual heat left unused at present. The research team wishes to increase the energy utilization efficiency by 25% over the existing method of power generation from urban waste.

A garbage incineration plant in Osaka was selected for the experiments. It has two garbage incinerations each of which has a daily incineration capacity of 300 tons, and uses the steam from the incineration (34 tons per hour) for its in-house power generation facilities that has an output of 3,000 kW. In the experiments, part of the heat from incineration will be kept in a special storage medium, and subsequently will be transported to office buildings. In addition, the research team will use about 5.5 tons of residual team for low-temperature power generation called binary cycle with the help of a special medium that boils at such a low temperature of 80 degrees centigrade. Kawasaki Heavy will work on the management of the whole project, and Osaka Gas will take charge of the experiments for the transportation of heat. The experiments are scheduled to end by March 2014. The research results will be utilized for the promotion of heat from garbage incineration for the regional energy requirements.