A simplified general model for a waste-to-energy plant

In this paper the authors present a simplified thertmodynamic model able to predict the operating conditions of a waste-to-energy plant. Unlike simplified models typically used to monitor a plant operation, the porposed model does not employ correlations based on empiric observations or on experimental data regressions. The developed numerical tool, being phenomenological, is generally applicable to any waste-to energy plant, and is here applied to HERAmbiente S.p.A. plant in Pozzilli, Italy. Input parameters are determined from measurements and the obtained results are validated against experiments, showing a good agreement. The model allows verifying the constraints imposed by the European legislation on temperature and residence time of the combustion products in the plant chamber.