NSF Award
2322319
This Baylor University and City of Waco NSF CIVIC partnership pilots a Climate-Smart, Waste-to-Energy multi-Fuel combustor (CSWEC) on Waco’s Hannah Hill landfill, enabling clean landfill flare; clean waste-to-energy (WtE) with high fuel flexibility; near-zero-emissions; and higher energy resilience for the area. This joint effort will seek to reduce methane and key air pollutants (particulate matter, unburned hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides in landfill gas (LFG), and help fulfill Waco’s strategic priorities of energy sustainability and resilience developed in response to the 2021 TX Winter Storm Uri. Development of the CSWEC system can potentially help not only reduce surface area needed for landfills but also combat landfill greenhouse gas emissions and combustion which contribute to climate change. Significantly, landfill methane has a global warming potential 28-36 times that of CO2; therefore, the U.S. Methane Emissions Reduction Action Plan urges to reduce landfill methane emissions and those from industry and farms. Along with reducing pollution, CSWEC develops a unique process of WtE combustion which enable the use of waste sources with a variety of properties and compositions not previously able to be turned into energy effectively. In alignment with NSF’s priorities, CSWEC will advance natural and social sciences related to WtE and climate. Success and eventual scaling of this novel CSWEC with Baylor’s proprietary “drop-in” components will decrease local waste treatment burdens, boost energy resilience, and has the potential to significantly impact U.S. and global poor and people of color who suffer most from air pollution, climate change, and high energy costs. <br/><br/>The proposed work will advance technical and social gaps in WtE by (1) demonstrating ultra-clean flaring and power from various waste-fuels with minimal processing via pilot testing of the CSWEC at the Waco landfill; (2) evaluating the impacts of the CSWEC pilot system on local emissions, energy resilience, economy, and energy equity. Results will also show the feasibility, cost-effectiveness, and significant benefits of scaling and transferring the CSWEC to (1) other landfills and industry-operating non-zero-emission flares, and (2) the EPA-identified 951 operational and potential Landfill Gas to Energy systems in the U.S (74 in Texas), and (3) WtE systems for non-LFG waste-based fuels. In addition to conventional publications, results will also be disseminated through informal education at Baylor’s Mayborn Museum through the NSF Portal-to-the-Public program, and collaboration with Waco Sustainability Network, and developed for commercialization through Baylor’s Lab-to-Market team.<br/><br/>The CIVIC Innovation Challenge is a collaboration with Department of Energy, Department of Homeland Security, and the National Science Foundation.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
