Producing usable fuel from municipal solid waste

Refuse disposal is a matter of increasing concern for municipalities and state governments. As existing land-fills become filled to capacity, and new landfills become more costly to site, it has become critical to develop alternative disposal methods. Some of the refuse that is presently being landfilled has the potential to provide considerable quantities of energy and thereby replace conventional fossil fuels. Another environmental concern is the problem of the emissions associated with combustion of traditional fossil fuels. The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 significantly restrict the level of sulfur dioxide (SO{sub 2}) and nitrogen oxides (NO{sub x}) emissions permissible as effluent from combustion facilities. To address both of these concerns, Argonne National Laboratory, under sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), has developed a means of producing fuel from municipal solid waste that can be co-fired with coal to supplement coal supplies and reduce problematic emissions