Calculate solid waste mass or energy from waste by entering one value and selecting units in short tons, metric tons, kg, lb, kWh, MWh, BTU, or GJ.
Energy from Waste Formula
The following equation estimates electricity from mixed municipal solid waste combustion using a fixed average yield of 550 kWh per US short ton. Actual output varies with waste composition and plant performance; this is not the waste’s heating value.
Variables:
- Where E is the Energy from Waste (kWh)
- m is the total mass of solid waste (US short tons)
To estimate electricity from waste, multiply US short tons of solid waste by 550. For waste mass, divide electricity in kWh by 550.
| Short Tons | kWh | MWh | BTU | GJ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.25 | 137.5 | 0.138 | 469169 | 0.495 |
| 0.5 | 275.0 | 0.275 | 938339 | 0.990 |
| 0.75 | 412.5 | 0.413 | 1407508 | 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 | 9383389 | 9.900 |
| 7.5 | 4125.0 | 4.125 | 14075084 | 14.850 |
| 10 | 5500.0 | 5.500 | 18766779 | 19.800 |
| 15 | 8250.0 | 8.250 | 28150168 | 29.700 |
| 20 | 11000.0 | 11.000 | 37533558 | 39.600 |
| 25 | 13750.0 | 13.750 | 46916947 | 49.500 |
| 30 | 16500.0 | 16.500 | 56300337 | 59.400 |
| 40 | 22000.0 | 22.000 | 75067116 | 79.200 |
| 50 | 27500.0 | 27.500 | 93833895 | 99.000 |
| 75 | 41250.0 | 41.250 | 140750842 | 148.500 |
| 100 | 55000.0 | 55.000 | 187667790 | 198.000 |
| 200 | 110000.0 | 110.000 | 375335580 | 396.000 |
| 500 | 275000.0 | 275.000 | 938338949 | 990.000 |
| 1000 | 550000.0 | 550.000 | 1876677898 | 1980.000 |
| *Assumes average waste-to-energy yield: 550 kWh per short ton. Conversions: 1 kWh ≈ 3,412.141633 BTU (IT); 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 (US short tons). In this example, the total mass of solid waste (US short 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 provided as:
total mass of solid waste (US short tons) = 1000
Entering these values into the formula or calculator above gives us:
E = 1000 * 550 = 550,000 (kWh)
