Waste-to-energy facility upgrade improves environmental sustainability

A cooling tower upgrade at Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority‘s waste-to-energy facility in Harrisburg will improve efficiency and environmental sustainability. 

 Infinite Cooling Inc. and the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) said they have completed the cooling tower upgrade pilot project in collaboration with the Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority (LCSWMA). 

 The pilot project retrofitted LCSWMA’s three-cell cooling tower with Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Infinite Cooling’s cutting-edge TowerPulse technology on all three cells and WaterPanel technology on one cell. Based on Infinite Cooling’s calculations, the company said the retrofit has led to annual energy savings of 1,000MWh and water conservation exceeding 500,000 gallons per year, the equivalent of 400,000 toilet flushes. 

SRBC funded the project as part of its efforts to ensure that water is used in such a way that maximizes its return to the basin after usage, undiminished in quantity.  

“Supporting projects like this is at the heart of our mission to enhance the ecological and economic health of the river basin,” Andrew Dehoff, SRBC executive director, said in a statement. 

Infinite Cooling said it implemented its TowerPulse technology, a connected sensor package easily installed on existing cooling towers, paired with physics-informed AI algorithms to optimize operations through real-time insights. This advanced monitoring revealed new strategies for process optimization and critical maintenance tasks.  

Infinite Cooling’s WaterPanel technology, installed on one of the three cells, uses electric fields to capture high-quality water from evaporative losses, the company said.  

This system not only reduces the facility’s environmental footprint but also abates the visible plumes typically emitted from cooling towers, Infinite Cooling said. 

With the innovations, the plant operators can have access to live data, simplifying monitoring and feedback processes. Infinite Cooling said. 

In its first year, the 21MW waste-to-energy power plant had calculated savings of more than 1,000MWh of energy and 500,000 gallons of freshwater. With targeted equipment upgrades that have been identified, it could save an additional 3,000 MWh of energy and 800,000 gallons of freshwater per year. 

 “Cooling process inefficiency is a widespread problem and results in major energy and water waste. Our breakthrough technologies, 

in the hands of forward-thinking partners like LCSWMA and SRBC, can result in substantial tangible benefits in terms of sustainability 

and cost reduction,” said Maher Damak, co-founder and CEO of Infinite Cooling. 

This project exemplifies the potential for industry-leading technology to significantly impact energy efficiency and water conservation 

not only in waste-to-energy operations but in any industrial process that uses evaporative cooling, the company said.  

SRBC and Infinite Cooling are seeking additional sites and partners within the Susquehanna River Basin.