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Covanta SEMASS

COVANTA SEMASS, L.P.
West Wareham, Massachusetts


The SEMASS Resource Recovery Facility provides southeastern Massachusetts communities with an alternative to landfilling their municipal solid waste. Since opening in 1988, the 95-acre facility has employed a shred-and-burn technology to create refuse derived fuel enabling the plant's processing of approximately one million tons of solid waste (MSW) each year.  This is more than one-fifth of all MSW processed/disposed in the state annually.   The resulting electricity meets the needs of more than 75,000 homes. The facility also recovers nearly 50,000 tons of recyclable metals from pre-combustion magnets and bottom ash annually.

Among the numerous operational and environmental prizes awarded to the SEMASS facility are the American Academy of Environmental Engineers' Honor Award for facility's ash technology and the American Society of Mechanical Engineer's (ASME) solid waste processing facility "Honorable Mention" recognition award in 2007.  The SEMASS Resource Recovery Facility received its OSHA Star facility designation in 2000 and was recertified as a VPP Star in 2003. 

Technical Data
Facility Address: 141 Cranberry Highway
West Wareham, MA 02576
(508) 291-4400
 
Service Area: Approximately sixty (60) communities in Southeastern Massachusetts, Cape Cod and the metropolitan Boston vicinity
 
Waste Supply: Participating municipalities and private haulers to deliver approximately one million tons per year
 
Energy Market: Electricity generation for plant use and export to NSTAR
 
Capacity: 3,000 tons per day of processed refuse fuel(PRF)
 
Number of Process Lines: Three Riley-Stoker boilers each with 375 MMBtu/hour design heat release rate.
 
Steam Conditions at Boiler Outlet: 300,000 lbs/hr @ 650 psia/750°F
 
Turbine-Generator: One 54-megawatt nominal condensing unit and one 30-megawatt condensing unit
 
Air Quality Control: Units 1 and 2 have dry scrubbers with a 5-field electrostatic precipitator and COHPAC baghouse, along with carbon injection. Unit 3 uses a dry scrubber and baghouse.
 
Stack Height: 345 feet
Secondary Materials Recovery: Recovery of ferrous and non-ferrous metals

 
   

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Map for SEMASS