The Union County Resource Recovery Facility, located on the banks of the Rahway River, began commercial operation in June 1994, serving the residents of Union County. The facility processes up to 1,540 tons of solid waste each day into enough electrical energy to power some 30,000 homes and businesses. The facility runs entirely on the energy it produces, with the remaining 39 megawatts of renewable energy sold through a merchant power marketer. Designed and built by Covanta Energy, the facility is owned by the Union County Utilities Authority (UCUA) and operated by Covanta Energy under a 25-year lease negotiated in 1998.
Technical Data
Facility Address:
1499 Route 1 North
Rahway, NJ 07065
(732) 499-0101
Site:
22 acres
Commercial Operation:
June 1994
Energy-from-Waste System:
Three 480 ton-per-day waterwall furnaces with Martin® reverse-reciprocating grates and ash handling system
Boiler Design:
865 psig/830°F superheater outlet conditions
Air Pollution Control Equipment:
Semi-dry flue gas scrubbers injecting lime, fabric filter baghouses, nitrogen oxide control system, mercury control system, and continuous emissions monitoring (CEM) system
Rated Refuse Capacity:
up to 1,540 tons per day
Energy Generation at Rated Capacity:
up to 44 megawatts from one condensing steam turbine generator