WASTE-TO-ENERGY Case Study
LANCASTER COUNTY
Learn about LCSWMA and how waste-to-energy fits into its innovative approach to responsible waste management.
Facility Fast Facts
Opened in 1991
Permitted to process up to 1,200 tons of waste per day
Owned by LCSWMA and operated by Reworld 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Has 36-megawatt generation capacity. About 6MW of power is used to power the facility’s internal operations, 5MW equivalent of steam is sent to Perdue Agribusiness for use in their soybean processing, and the remaining 25MW is sent to the wholesale power grid, managed by PJM
The average five-year emissions are well below federal standards
A zero-discharge facility means all wastewater is treated on-site and recycled within the system.
Step 1
Tipping and Sorting
After trucks weigh in at the scale house, they enter the tipping floor to dump their waste.
Waste that comes in our transfer trucks is dumped directly into the pit, but waste from outside haulers is dumped on the tipping floor, so compliance officers can visually inspect it to ensure nothing harmful is in the load.
Heavy equipment pushes the trash into the pit, which is 55 ft. deep, 55 ft. tall, 115 feet long, and 30 ft. wide. The pit can hold 9,000 tons of waste.
Every day, an average of 120 customer vehicles, along with LCSWMA’s own transfer trucks, deliver waste to this facility to be combusted. 70% of the waste comes from LCSWMA's Transfer Station Complex. The facility is permitted to receive an average of 1,200 tons per day or around 400,000 tons annually.
The majority of Lancaster County’s municipal solid waste is brought here for final processing and disposal.
Step 2
Combustion
To get the waste from the pit up to the boilers, we rely on a piece of equipment called a grapple (more commonly known as a crane).
Before the grapple even picks up any trash, it first mixes the waste in the pit to ensure even feedstock for combustion. The grapple can pick up 5-7 tons of garbage at a time.
Next, the waste is fed into one of three boilers.
Step 3
Creating Steam
Water is one of the most important resources used at our facility. It’s part of what helps us make electricity.
Water tubes surrounding our three boilers are heated until the water turns to steam. The steam is then used to spin a turbine, which is attached to a generator, to produce electricity.
After the steam passes through the turbine generator, it is sent to the condenser or “condensed” back into water and reused in the process. Process water used elsewhere throughout the plant is sent to the cooling tower. As the water evaporates, the air absorbs heat, which lowers the temperature of the remaining water.
The remaining water collects in the basin and is then pumped and recirculated back into the plant where it can be used again. On average, our plant uses around 500,000 gallons of water per day.
Though the Susquehanna River is located directly behind our facility, we do not use any river water in our processes.
As a zero-discharge facility, we take wastewater from a local wastewater treatment plant, treat it onsite at our facility through reverse osmosis, and then use it to create renewable energy.
In addition to the cooling tower, the back end of the plant also houses the important air pollution control system. Combustion gases are collected and thoroughly filtered and cleaned before exiting the stack. The combustion gases pass through an extensive emissions control process that operates in accordance with state and federal standards. Emissions at the facility are well below permitted levels and real-time emissions data is sent to PA DEP through a Continuous Emissions Monitoring System (CEMS).
Carbon is added to reduce mercury, and lime is added to reduce acid gases.
Particulate matter emissions are controlled through a baghouse or a fabric filter, which acts like a high-efficiency vacuum bag. Even the smallest particles are removed during this process.
At the end of the emissions control process, only cleansed air leaves the stack (stack measures 304 ft. tall).
The WTE process reduces greenhouse gas emissions by eliminating the creation of methane had the waste been landfilled, while also generating renewable, baseload electricity and capturing metals for recycling.
Step 4
Energy Generation
4a Boilers – Burning / Creation
Each boiler can process 400 tons of trash daily and operates at temperatures between 1,800 and 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit to ensure complete burnout.
It takes approximately 45 minutes for waste to travel through the combustion chamber.
Lancaster's boilers are manufactured by MARTIN Technologies out of Munich, Germany. MARTIN boilers are considered one of the best waste-to-energy systems on the market.
4b Turbine Electricity (Powered by steam)
Water tubes surrounding each boiler generate steam from the combustion process. The steam is then piped to the turbine that is connected to a generator with a 36-megawatt capacity.
The turbine runs continuously to generate energy for the plant and the local energy grid.
4c Utility Bridge (Perdue) (Steam)
In 2017, LCSWMA integrated our Lancaster WTE Facility with the adjacent Perdue Agribusiness’ Soybean Processing Facility, which processes approximately 17.5 million bushels of soybeans annually and produces soybean meal, hulls, and oil.
The large steel structure between our WTE facility and Perdue is the utility bridge connecting the two facilities.
LCSWMA sends steam and process water to Perdue’s facility via the utility bridge.
Through the 20-year agreement, LCSWMA provides 15-20% of the WTE Facility’s steam to Perdue for use in their manufacturing operations, reducing Perdue’s environmental footprint and lowering emissions by avoiding the need for fossil fuels. By using WTE steam, Perdue's process saves an average of 30,553 MTCO2E annually. That’s 34 million pounds of coal never burned!
In addition to steam, LCSWMA also provides up to 130,000 gallons of process water to Perdue per day, eliminating the need for Perdue to use water from the Susquehanna River.
Step 5
Metal Recovery
Ash is a byproduct of the combustion process and is transported to the ash warehouse on a conveyor belt for metals recovery.
The ferrous recovery system removes metals containing iron (steel, stainless steel, cast iron, and wrought iron), using a magnet.
The non-ferrous recovery system removes aluminum, copper, brass, and other precious metals.
The metals are sold to recycling markets.
The recovered metals and ash are stored in designated bays in the ash warehouse before they are shipped to recycling markets (metals) or used as daily cover at the landfill (ash).
The Lancaster WTE facility recovers approximately 7,790 tons of ferrous and 531 tons of non-ferrous metals annually.
Step 6
Landfill ASH REUSE
For every 10 truckloads of garbage that come into the facility, only one tractor load of ash leaves – that’s a 90% volume reduction!
The Ash is taken to LCSWMA’s Frey Farm Landfill, where it is placed over non-combustible waste (i.e., used as required daily cover) at the end of each day instead of soil which preserves land.
how the system works
LCSWMA manages approximately one million tons of waste annually through its Integrated System. This innovative waste management approach aligns with the EPA's Waste Hierarchy and incorporates public education initiatives, county-wide recycling, and five facilities. LCSWMA's Integrated System can best be described through four key steps:
Confined and controlled burning, known as combustion, can not only decrease the volume of solid waste destined for landfills, but can also recover energy from the waste burning process. This generates an energy source and reduces carbon emissions by offsetting the need for energy from fossil sources and reduces methane generation from landfills.
EPA United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (2023). Energy Recovery from the Combustion of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)