Publish Date : 04-Nov-2014
Iran’s ministry of energy unveils power plants using municipality waste to generate electricity. The technology is a joint venture by the Ministries of Oil and Energy where they have procured the technical knowledge of the application of plasma for conversion of all types of medical, infectious and nuclear waste to electricity in specific power plant that uses these wastes as its fuel. Additionally, the project has launched building of few such power plants in northern provinces near Caspian Sea in Kahrizak, Sari, Nowshahr, and Tonekabon, each having 3mW capacity, and Rasht power plant with 5mW capacity.
Hamid Chitchian during a meeting with Adnan Amin, the director-general of International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), stated that the electricity generation using waste as Iran’s alternative to dispose of the waste especially in Caspian Sea provinces where waste management poses serious problems for the municipalities. Under a policy for construction of waste-burning power plants, the Ministry of Energy has raised the price of each kW of electricity generated by this family of power plants up to 4400 IR Rials (US 13) in order to attract private sector investments.
Akbar Sha’banikia, the director of Iran Renewable Energy Organization (SUNA) Research Office revealed the details of Iran’s new plans to generate electricity using waste. He said, “Waste management is a real trouble for megacities and cities, which use different methods to eliminate the waste. Two thermo-chemical and biochemical methods work; biochemical methods use landfills and digesters, which is the main method in Iran.” “Currently, two pilot landfill power plants in Mashhad and Shiraz have been built; along with biochemical methods, thermo-chemical method is also used where waste is burned by a reactor producing high-temperature heat.”
He said, “Hi-tech methods are also at work to manage the waste; residual material incompatible with nature are eliminated by this method. In plasma technology, nuclear and infectious wastes, chemical fertilizers, and polluted soil are cleaned; in addition, the method generates electricity with a 90-per cent productivity.” According to Sha’banikia, the country’s Renewable Energies Technology Development Headquarters had understood the challenges of waste accumulation, “Knowing that generation of electricity from waste is an opportunity, the Headquarters has launched, in collaboration with Research Institute of Petroleum Industry, a project to acquire indigenously the plasma reactor technology, with 15mW capacity Torches now unveiled as a result.”
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