Enter the total mass of solid waste (tons) into the calculator to determine the Energy from Waste.
Energy from Waste Formula
The following equation is used to calculate the Energy from Waste.
E = m * 550
Variables:
- Where E is the Energy from Waste (kWh)
- m is the total mass of solid waste (tons)
To calculate the potential energy from waste, multiply the tons of solid waste by 500.
| Short Tons | kWh | MWh | BTU | GJ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.25 | 137.5 | 0.138 | 469170 | 0.495 |
| 0.5 | 275.0 | 0.275 | 938339 | 0.990 |
| 0.75 | 412.5 | 0.413 | 1407509 | 1.485 |
| 1 | 550.0 | 0.550 | 1876678 | 1.980 |
| 2 | 1100.0 | 1.100 | 3753356 | 3.960 |
| 3 | 1650.0 | 1.650 | 5630034 | 5.940 |
| 5 | 2750.0 | 2.750 | 9383390 | 9.900 |
| 7.5 | 4125.0 | 4.125 | 14075086 | 14.850 |
| 10 | 5500.0 | 5.500 | 18766781 | 19.800 |
| 15 | 8250.0 | 8.250 | 28150172 | 29.700 |
| 20 | 11000.0 | 11.000 | 37533562 | 39.600 |
| 25 | 13750.0 | 13.750 | 46916953 | 49.500 |
| 30 | 16500.0 | 16.500 | 56300343 | 59.400 |
| 40 | 22000.0 | 22.000 | 75067124 | 79.200 |
| 50 | 27500.0 | 27.500 | 93833905 | 99.000 |
| 75 | 41250.0 | 41.250 | 140750858 | 148.500 |
| 100 | 55000.0 | 55.000 | 187667810 | 198.000 |
| 200 | 110000.0 | 110.000 | 375335620 | 396.000 |
| 500 | 275000.0 | 275.000 | 938339050 | 990.000 |
| 1000 | 550000.0 | 550.000 | 1876678100 | 1980.000 |
| *Assumes average waste-to-energy yield: 550 kWh per short ton. Conversions: 1 kWh = 3,412.142 BTU; 1 kWh = 0.0036 GJ. | ||||
How to Calculate Energy from Waste?
The following two example problems outline the steps and information needed in order to calculate the Energy from Waste.
Example Problem #1:
- First, determine the total mass of solid waste (tons). In this example, the total mass of solid waste (tons) is measured to be 540.
- Finally, calculate the Energy from Waste using the formula above:
E = m * 550
Inserting the values from above and solving the equation with the imputed values gives:
E = 540 * 550 = 297000 (kWh)
Example Problem #2:
Using the same process as example problem 1, we first define the needed variables outlined by the formula. In this case, the values are provide as:
total mass of solid waste (tons) = 1000
Entering these values into the formula or calculator above gives us:
E = 1000 * 550 = 550,000 (kWh)
