Abstract
The aim of this study was to assess the performance of the combustion process during medical waste incineration by studying physical properties of the ashes produced. Combustion characteristics data including maximum temperatures, total weight of waste loaded, weight of ashes, weight reduction, sieve analysis and particle size distribution were determined experimentally. The test runs were conducted in a newly installed incinerator at Temeke district hospital. The average maximum temperatures achieved in the primary chamber was 397.8℃and 839℃ for secondary chamber with average incineration cycle time of 99 minutes. These temperatures were lower compared to the design temperatures of 650℃ and 950℃ as a result of loading wet waste. The ash samples were collected under the incinerator grate by randomly sampling the ashes for each run after weighing the total ash. The particle size distribution of ashes observed was not uniform due to presence of non-combustible materials in the sharps waste. However, the fineness modulus ranged between 2.0 and 4.0, which is in the acceptable range. From the above results it was concluded that, the incinerator performance was high in terms of the parameters assessed. To improve the incinerator performance further, it was recommended that the medical waste should be stored in a dry place away from rain.
Highlights
This Medical waste management is still posing challenges in Tanzania and other developing countries [1,2,3,4,5]
This implies that, sharps waste loaded in the incinerator chamber has significant effect on the fineness modulus, attributable to the noncombustible materials resulting from lower temperatures below 900 ̊C in most runs
3) The values of fineness modulus were close to the acceptable value of 3.0, indicating that the incinerator was in the better performance range
Summary
This Medical waste management is still posing challenges in Tanzania and other developing countries [1,2,3,4,5]. Medical waste treatment (which is the critical part of medical waste management) is most frequently done by incineration, which in turn requires proper design and operation [2]. Treatment of medical wastes in developing countries has commonly been carried out using different method and technologies such as open burning, open dumping, landfills, sanitary landfills, etc. There has been a growing appreciation of the functions of incinerators which are increasingly being used for the treatment of a variety of wastes. Most of the medical wastes are treated with poor incineration technology and without caring about the emissions and ash disposal from the treatment sites. The utilization of substandard incinerators produces solid residues (ashes), which can be toxic or hazardous to the community and to the environment
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