A Finnish company has announced surprising plans to burn maintenance waste from a nuclear power plant for district heating and electrical generation, according to Interesting Engineering.
Nuclear power plant operator Teollisuuden Voima Oyj entered an agreement with Rauman Biovoima Oy to use RBO's heat plants to create the energy. The companies will use overalls, gloves, plastic coverings, and other similar waste as fuel for an incineration plant.
Rauman Biovoima will use this feedstock from TVO's Olkiluoto nuclear power plant to continue to generate power and heat local homes. The incinerator has historically been fueled by forestry waste. It's kept nearly the entire city of Rauma heated during its operation.
Regulators have established that the waste TVO aims to use has low enough levels of radioactivity to exempt it from usual control requirements.
TVO explained that managing this waste in a landfill was otherwise an expensive affair.
"The benefit of the new operating model is that the waste can now for the first time be reclaimed for reuse through burning it for energy," said TVO, per Interesting Engineering.
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Nuclear energy production doesn't pollute the air like coal and natural gas do. Nuclear fuel can often be reused to generate more power, and France actually mandates it. It is, however, contentious among environmentalists who are concerned with how the waste is managed.
That said, Finland has made progress in shutting down its coal power generation while expanding its district heating infrastructure. Though district heating requires significant investments, it's quite efficient and can offer big energy savings versus electric and gas alternatives. The sustainability of district heating depends entirely on what fuel is being burned to keep it humming.
TVO intends to test 10 cubic metres of its waste-to-energy stream this year. Over time, it aims to provide between 30 and 80 cubic meters of burnable waste annually.
"The acceptance of maintenance waste exempt from control excellently supports Rauman Biovoima's systematic work as a promoter of the circular economy and sustainable production," said Rauman Biovoima's managing director, Markus Pyykönen, per Interesting Engineering.
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