Resource Recovery Facility

The Resource Recovery Facility (RRF) has one of the most important roles in Lancaster County's integrated solid waste management system. In operation since 1991, the RRF has the capacity to process up to 1,200 tons of solid waste per day.

It creates clean renewable energy (electricity), from the combustion of non-hazardous solid waste, and the sale of electricity creates revenue for the Authority. The RRF also extracts metals for recycling.

But perhaps the most important aspect of the facility is that it reduces the volume of waste processed by 90%, thus extending the life of the Frey Farm Landfill by 19 years. Instead of 10 truckloads of waste going directly to the Landfill, the waste goes to the RRF where it is combusted and converted to one truckload of ash. The ash is then trucked to the Landfill where it is beneficially used at the end of every day as protective cover instead of using valuable soil.

If the $126 million investment in this state-of-the-art facility had not been made, the Frey Farm Landfill would have been filled in August 2001. Instead it is projected to last until about 2020.

The integrated system is one of a kind in Pennsylvania; Lancaster is the only county to have a waste management plan that allows for recycling, a landfill, and a resource recovery facility. Having these comprehensive disposal options means that not only is waste handled in the most efficient manner possible, it allows us to be self-reliant and not have to depend on facilities outside the county.

Resource Recovery Facility located in Bainbridge, PA, Conoy Township, Lancaster County

Owned by Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority and operated by the designer, Covanta Lancaster, Inc.

Upon arrival, haulers cross over the Authority's computerized scales which record the weight of the waste. Small vehicles, and those containing recyclable materials, use a special drop-off area located outside the plant. Larger delivery trucks enter the facility's enclosed tipping area, which is maintained under negative air pressure to prevent litter, dust and odors from escaping.

Contents are unloaded into either the storage pit (which can hold up to 8,000 tons of waste), or onto the tipping floor where a front-end loader spreads out the trash for inspection. Primarily bulky and non-combustible items like large appliances, vehicle parts and large furniture will be removed. Large metal parts are pulled out and loaded into a roll-off box for recycling. The remaining waste is pushed into the pit, and the trucks are weighed again as they leave the facility.

An overhead crane mixes the waste in the pit to ensure even combustion before feeding it into one of the three independent boilers, each with a daily processing capacity of 400 tons. All three furnaces operate continuously, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

In the furnace, a grate system consisting of a series of metal plates arranged in steps, mixes and moves the waste to further promote even and complete combustion. Combustion air blows under and over the waste as it moves downward on the inclined grates to support burning at a temperature exceeding 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit. The elevated temperature significantly reduce concentrations of offensive gases from stack emissions. The waste passes through drying, burning and cooling stages before it exits the unit as ash. The ash is conveyed to a separate storage building where it is then taken to the Landfill.

Boiler water is converted into steam by the heat given off from the burning waste, which warms the water in tubes surrounding the furnace. Steam, in excess of 800 degrees Fahrenheit, is piped to a turbine-generator, where steam pressure spins the turbine which, in turn, is connected to a generator that produces approximately 36 megawatts of electricity.

Four to five megawatts are used to power the plant, and the remainder is sold to First Energy for distribution to local homes and businesses. The turbine discharges steam, which is then cooled in a condenser and returned to the boilers for additional steam production.

Turbine-generator

(Photo by Grant Heilman)

Through the incineration process the facility consumes 600,000 gallons of water every day for cooling, emissions control, ash quenching and other uses. The source for this water is secondary effluent (wastewater) from the Elizabethtown Borough Wastewater Treatment Plant that was previously discharged directly into the Susquehanna River.

Extensive treatment of the effluent on-site is required to generate boiler quality water. A reverse osmosis water treatment system was installed in 2007, eliminating the need for hydrochloric acid and reducing the volume of caustic soda used.

Since 1991, the RRF has removed over 2,600 tons of solids from the effluent it has received from the Elizabethtown Wastewater Treatment Plant. If the RRF had never been built, these solids would have ended up in the Susquehanna River and, subsequently, the Chesapeake Bay. It is projected that during the estimated lifetime of the RRF, it will prevent a total of 7,200 tons of solids from reaching the Bay. As such, the RRF is a member of Businesses for the Bay, a voluntary pollution prevention program run by the Departments of Environmental Protection in the bay's watershed states. It consists of forward-looking industries, commercial establishments, and small businesses within the Chesapeake Bay watershed committed to implementing pollution prevention in daily operations and reducing chemical releases to the Chesapeake Bay.

Two ponds at the Resource Recovery Facility store 2.5 million gallons of treated water for use during peak demand periods and for fire protection. The plant itself is a zero-discharge facility, which means that no wastewater leaves the property. Instead, the wastewater is treated on site and recycled within the system.

Emissions at the facility are well below levels set by the Department of Environmental Protection; the facility has averaged 99.7% emissions compliance since beginning operations in 1991.

There are several emissions control systems in place that are continuously monitored. Aqueous ammonia and hydrated lime are injected directly into the combustion chamber of each boiler to control nitrogen oxide and acid gas emissions, respectively. Semi-dry scrubbers are also used to further lower acid gas emissions, and activated carbon, which is a black powder similar to toner, is injected directly into the gases leaving the boilers for mercury emissions control.

Finally, the treated gases enter a fabric filter baghouse for the removal of suspended particulate matter. The cleansed air then exits the stack, 305 feet above ground level.

Reacted salts and particulate matter (called fly ash) from the scrubber and baghouse are conditioned with water and hydrated lime and then combined with the bottom ash from the furnace.

Conveyors transport the ash to a building where it passes through both ferrous and nonferrous metal recovery systems. Using a magnet, the ferrous recovery system removes metals containing iron. The nonferrous recovery system was installed in 2007 and uses an eddy current to remove aluminum, copper, brass and precious metals.

The Authority sells the metals to recycling markets and hauls the remaining ash to the landfill.