Effect of excess air on grate combustion of solid wastes and on gaseous products

Abstract

An experimental study has been conducted in a fixed bed reactor to simulate, in a laboratory scale, industrial municipal waste incineration using moving grates. Carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, temperatures and mass loss rate measurements have been used to establish the importance of the operating parameters of a municipal waste incinerator in the characteristics of the combustion process. The present work is concerning the study of the impact of primary and secondary airs of combustion. Two different regimes have been identified that are controlled by the airflow through the fuel (primary airflow). These combustion regimes have indicated the impact of primary and secondary air flow on the combustion behavior and the resulting concentrations of carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide: the production of NO seems to be controlled only by the oxygen concentration in the secondary zone of combustion. An increase in total airflow, thus, results in an increase in the yield of NO.