NEW YORK, Nov. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- The Waste-to-Energy Research and Technology Council (WTERT) recently awarded Covanta Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Covanta Holding Corporation , its 2008 Industry Award for developing an innovative technology to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions from Waste-to-Energy (also known as Energy-from-Waste) facilities.
The WTERT 2008 Industry Award recognizes significant advances in the Waste-to-Energy (WTE) industry. Covanta Energy won this coveted prize for creating two patent-pending technologies, Covanta LN and Covanta VLN. These technologies dramatically reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from facility operations.
Covanta LN is designed for existing WTE facilities and cuts nitrogen oxide emissions 50 to 70 percent below the current U.S. EPA standards. Covanta VLN was developed for new boiler units in collaboration with Covanta's long-time technology partner, Martin GmbH. This technology reduces nitrogen oxide emission more than 70 percent below U.S. EPA limits while improving overall boiler efficiency and lowering capital costs for new units.
"The technology enables WTE facilities to decrease nitrogen oxide emissions to levels well below those possible with current systems. The result is a significant improvement in emission controls and performance vastly better than that required by the EPA," said Nickolas J. Themelis, Director of the Earth Engineering Center of Columbia University in the City of New York and Chair of WTERT.
Covanta Energy is an internationally recognized owner and operator of large-scale Energy-from-Waste and renewable energy projects. Covanta's 38 Energy-from-Waste facilities provide communities with an environmentally sound solution to their solid waste disposal needs by using that municipal solid waste to generate clean, renewable energy. By the end of this year, Covanta will have nine LN systems in service at seven Covanta-operated facilities located throughout the United States.
"At Covanta, we are dedicated to investing in research and development that enables us to provide clean, renewable energy. We are proud to be recognized by our peers for this achievement," said Paul Gilman, Covanta's Chief Sustainability Officer. "We are particularly pleased to receive this award as it is recognizes our commitment to continuous improvement and environmental excellence. This technology represents an important step forward in NOx reduction not just for Covanta, but for the Energy-from-Waste industry."
About WTERT
The Waste-to-Energy Research and Technology Council (WTERT, http://www.wtert.org/), headquartered at Columbia University, is a top-tier-technical group that brings together engineers, scientists, and managers from industry, universities, and government with the objective of advancing the goals of sustainable waste management globally. WTERT strives to increase the global recovery of energy and materials from used solids and to advance the economic and environmental performance of waste-to-energy (WTE) technologies in the U.S. and worldwide.
