Dear Editor,
Response to the five questions posed by Robert Wills.
I have appreciated Robert Wills thoughts and questions about our MRC Pontiac Project for a waste-to-energy facility. I look forward to visiting different parts of the . . .
Pontiac in the new year to meet with residents to further explain how this works and the benefits to the Pontiac.
Here are the responses to his questions from the Dec. 10 issue of THE EQUITY.
How would the garbage be brought up to demolition temperatures?
Covanta, the company that built and operates the Durham/York waste-to-energy facility pre-heats the combustion chamber with auxiliary burners which can be fueled by natural gas, propane or oil, (depending on the facility). Once the boilers are at their operating temperature, municipal solid waste is introduced into the furnace. Once the start-up process is complete, the combustion process is completely self-sustaining. No additional auxiliary fuel is required aside from the waste itself. The heat content or higher heating value of the waste when managed in a carefully controlled combustion process, reaches temperatures in excess of 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
What will such a plant require in terms of steady delivered quantities of waste material? Will there be stock piling and where will that take place?
A modern waste-to-energy facility operates 24 hours a day/seven days a week, 365 days a year. These facilities are built to run all year long with scheduled down time for routine maintenance. There is no storage outside the facility. There is no debris or odour. Typical waste facilities design waste bunkers to store and inventory approximately seven days of the daily processing throughout (ie. facility that processes 1,000 tonnes per day has a waste bunker that can hold 7,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste.) The waste bunker is a very effective tool for fuel management and fuel mixing. Most facilities have limited deliveries on Saturday and no deliveries Sunday. With holidays and weather delays, fuel storage is important to maintain efficient and safe operations. Remember a well-designed waste-to-energy facility operates under negative pressure which means air is drawn in from the bunker area into the combustion chambers and thus any odour from the MSW does not leave the building.
How will the excess energy be utilized? How will the steam be used and transported?
A typical waste-to-energy facility will utilize approximately 10 per cent of the energy it produces to run the plant. The remaining 90 per cent can be processed through a steam turbine and sold to the hydrogrid. One could also design the Turbine Generator with a steam extraction port or bypass with the idea that steam could be sold/utilized by an industrial customer combined heat and power/district heat and power/district energy is a very efficient and sustainable design system. In fact, in Durham the Covanta facility provides heat and light to its tenant OPG, as well there will now be 2,000 new employees who are locating to new businesses across the street. They were attracted to this location because of the energy provided by the waste-to-energy facility. Even with power outages they can continue to operate. A state-of the art facility as we plan to have could become the anchor tenant for an Eco-Energy Park which includes anaerobic digestion (AD), mixed recyclable processing facility (MRF) and other sustainable businesses.
Is Hydro Quebec in agreement yet?
We are currently investigating this and it is our hope that the province and Hydro Quebec will support this initiative. Premier Legault stated on May 26 that one of his major priorities was producing electricity. There is already a small waste-to-energy facility for commercial waste in Quebec. Our project could be the first household waste and could also be helpful with contaminated recyclables, excess plastic, tires, institutional waste and industrial.
How many jobs?
We estimate approximately 50 jobs. Most of these will be available for people in the Pontiac to apply for. There is specific training that is required. Some of the jobs include: Two technicians, a project engineer, an audit technician, 24 operators, and staff to run, six maintenance workers and nine people in the office. There are also drivers of the 53-foot trucks which bring waste from the various transfer stations. We also hope to have another transformation which takes the left-over fly-ash and instead of landfilling it different streams are pulled out which can be re-used. These include sand, the ingredients to make cement. This would create additional jobs.
Jane Toller
Warden MRC Pontiac
