Process simulation and comprehensive evaluation of a system of coal power plant coupled with waste incineration

The technology of coal power plant coupled with waste incineration is considered as a promising technology for fossil fuel conservation and waste disposal. In this paper, a system of coal power plant coupled with waste incineration is simulated by Aspen Plus software, and a conventional coal power plant is also simulated for comparison. Comprehensive evaluation including thermodynamic, economic and environmental impact performances are analysed and compared. Evaluation results indicate that the thermodynamic performance and environmental impact of the system of coal power plant coupled with waste incineration are worse, but the economic performance of the system is obviously better than the coal power plant. When the replacement ratio of waste is 20%, the energy and exergy efficiencies of the system are 38.54% and 37.27%, the internal rate of return and discounted payback period of the system are 21.83% and 9.14 years, and the environmental cost of the system is $3597.73 h^-1. Therefore, the technology of coal power plant coupled with waste incineration has technical feasibility and economic advantages, and the environmental impacts need to be considered in the application of the technology.