Waste-to-energy
Getting energy from rubbish, residues and spent oils.
Recovery and reuse · Pressure, motion and waste fuels · No. 134
- Recovery and reuse
- Waste energy: Fuel
India's first waste-burning power plant, at Timarpur in 1987, ran for just 21 days: the rubbish was too wet.
Chart: Illustration: Waste-to-energy
Where it comes from
Chart: Map of where it comes from
Waste-to-energy recovers the chemical energy in rubbish, residues and spent oil as heat, power or reusable products. Europe had 499 plants treating 101 Mt of residual waste in 2023.
Three things to know
- Indian mixed waste holds about 1,411-2,150 kcal/kg, often below the roughly 1,800 needed to burn without support fuel.
- Corrosive flue gas caps waste boiler steam at about 400 C, so power-only plants manage about 20% efficiency at most.
- India's 2026 waste rules require cement plants to raise refuse-derived fuel to 15% of solid fuel within six years.
The journey
- 1 WasteRubbish, crop residue or used oil
- 2 Sort and prepareSegregate, dry, shred into refuse-derived fuel
- 3 Burn or refineIncinerator, cement kiln, gasifier or re-refinery
- 4 Clean upGas cleaning traps acid, metals and ash
- 5 OutputPower, district heat, kiln fuel, base oil