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<br /> Comprehensive Review of <br /> S olid W aste Collection and Disposal Options <br /> <br /> <br />v2.1 171 10/22/12 <br />The resulting sugar compounds and water are sent to a fermentation unit where yeast is added. <br />The yeast reacts with the sugars to convert them to alcohol. The alcohol mixture is then heated <br />and distilled to remove the solids. The resulting distilled alcohol (grain alcohol or ethanol) can <br />be used as fuel. The lignin by-product is sent to a gasifier where it is used to produce heat for the <br />drying process or can potentially be further processed for use as a fuel substitute in power plants. <br />A basic bio-chemical process is shown in Exhibit 12-10. <br /> <br />Exhibit 12 -10. Basic Bio -Chemical Process <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />12.5 STATUS OF COMMERCIAL OPERATING WTE AND WC <br />FACILITIES <br />12.5.1 Waste -to-Energy <br />At the time of this report, there are about 1,300 WTE facilities worldwide. Large numbers are <br />located in Europe (440) primarily because of the European Union’s directive that requires a 65% <br />reduction in the landfilling of biodegradable MSW. Asian countries (Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, <br />and China) have the largest number (764) of WTE facilities worldwide. All of these countries <br />face limited open space issues for the siting of landfills and have large urban populations. One <br />of the largest current markets for WTE plant construction is in China, which is currently the <br />fourth largest user of WTE worldwide. <br />In the U.S., there are currently 89 WTE plants (Exhibit 12-11) operating in 25 states managing <br />about 7% of the nation’s MSW, or about 85,000 tons per day. This is equivalent of a base load <br />electrical generation of approximately 2,700 megawatts to meet the needs of more than two <br />million homes, while servicing the waste disposal needs of more than 35 million people.