More than 40 years of environmentally-sustainable energy from waste.
Mannheim's EfW CHP plant opened in 1965. Following several rounds of expansion, it now processes waste from more than one million inhabitants in the Rhine/Neckar region. The commissioning of new boiler 6 in 2009 has increased the plant's capacity by 10 percent. Household waste and material from commercial and industrial customers is combusted in accordance with the Closed Substance Management and Waste Management Act and is used to generate energy.
Safe combustion at up to 1,300 °C
Waste combustion based on grate firing has long proven its exceptional performance capacity in Mannheim, with high availability levels meeting all legal requirements. Once trial samples have been inspected, the waste is mixed in the waste bunker to ensure uniform calorific value. It is then fed into the boilers using the crane. By adding air, the waste then automatically burns on the combustion grate at temperatures of up to 1,300 °C.
These high temperatures ensure that the furans, dioxins and chlorinated carbon hydrides are safely destroyed. All non-combustible components come out as slag and are treated following a brief period of interim storage.
Maximum performance for electricity suppliers and industry
The energy released from the waste is used to generate steam. The cogeneration process then makes efficient use of the steam to generate electricity. In parallel with this, around 15 industrial customers in the north of Mannheim are supplied with an average of 65 tonnes of process steam an hour. A boiler powered by natural gas is available to safeguard the volume of steam output.
The residues resulting from combustion are used in line with their material properties. Slag is used as a material in road construction and landscaping. Ferrous metals are used in the iron and steel industries. Filter dusts are put to use as backfill in the mining industry, while cement discharges are used by the construction industry.
Facts and figures
| Approval | In accordance with the 17th Federal Immission Control Ordinance |
| Commissioned | 1965 / 1997 / 2003 / 2009 |
| Types of waste | Mixed municipal waste and industrial and commercial waste |
| No. of boilers | 3 |
| Firing | Pusher grate |
| Waste bunker | 34,000 m³ capacity |
| Annual throughput | 625,000 Mg/a |
| Imputed calorific value | Boilers 4 + 5 ? 9,600 kJ/kg Boiler 6 ? 12,500 kJ/kg |
| Live steam output | Up to 2.2 million Mg/a between 25 and 80 bar, 265?500 °C |
| Electricity output | 205,000 MWh/a |
| Steam | 65 Mg/h steam output at normal capacity |
| Residues | 156,000 Mg/a grate slag 26,700 Mg/a filter dust |
Types of waste:
- Non-hazardous agricultural, research, industrial and commercial waste
- Mixed municipal waste and bulky waste
- Waste from thermal processes
- Packaging and plastic waste not suitable for other use
- Construction and demolition waste
- Waste from waste and wastewater treatment plants