Abstract
In many cases, waste-to-energy (WtE) plants are combined heat and power producers. They are often integrated into a central heating system and they also export electricity to a grid. Therefore, they have to plan their operation for the next day, next month, etc. However, it may be a challenging task due to stochastic nature of some input variables such as varying lower heating value of waste, boiler performance resulting in fluctuating steam parameters, irregular internal steam consumption or its export. This paper presents a novel tool for a WtE plant operation planning under uncertainty. The crucial part of the tool is a stochastic model of a technology. The stochastic model was developed using operational data from an existing plant. The model was then implemented into simulation tool and well-known Monte Carlo simulation method was applied. Utilization of simulation results for operation planning is described on an example and the contribution of stochastic approach is evaluated using historical data.
