Waste-to-Energy Equipment worked example

Furnace Throughput at 99% furnace availability: a worked example

What does the result look like when furnace availability reaches 99%? The full calculation is worked below with real intermediate numbers. Use it when furnace throughput in waste-to-energy equipment is being asked to take on more work and you need to know if there is room.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Waste charged per grate cycle: 4 units / cycle (unchanged)
  • Grate cycles available per campaign: 480 cycles (unchanged)
  • Furnace availability (online time): 99 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 90)
  • Complete-burnout first-pass yield: 97 % (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Gross furnace throughput capacity = furnace throughput output per cycle × available furnace throughput cycles) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 1,844 units for good furnace throughput capacity, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 1,920 units for gross furnace throughput capacity.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 19.2 units for furnace throughput downtime loss.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 57.02 units for furnace throughput yield loss.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where furnace availability sits at 90% and the headline result is 1,676 units, this scenario comes in 10% above the baseline at 1,844 units.
  • A figure at this level is achievable when furnace availability is genuinely sustained, not just peaked for a shift. It assumes a steady average charge per cycle and constant calorific value; real refuse-derived fuel varies shot to shot, so a low-LHV batch can cut real throughput below the calculated good capacity even with the same cycle count.

Results at a glance

  • Good furnace throughput capacity: 1,844 units (headline result)
  • Gross furnace throughput capacity: 1,920 units
  • Furnace throughput downtime loss: 19.2 units
  • Furnace throughput yield loss: 57.02 units

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Furnace Throughput calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.