Waste Combustion,MSW, Sewage Sludge, Hazardous, Grate and Rotary Kiln

Abstract

AbstractWaste incineration is the preferred practice of thermal treatment of municipal and of industrial waste. The objectives and basic principles of waste incineration as well as the various types of grate systems are described in detail. Special interest is attached to the characterization of municipal solid waste and waste based fuels. Their combustion properties, first of all the calorific value, are important parameters for furnace design. The biogenic energy share in municipal solid waste worldwide is roughly 50%, meaning that waste‐to‐energy strategies contribute significantly to the reduction of fossil CO2emissions. The quality of air emissions is dealt with in view of the respective legislative regulations and the environmental impact. Of particular interest in this respect is the role of dioxins.Solid residues from waste are partly used as secondary building materials while filter ashes and gas cleaning residues are classified as hazardous waste. Whereas municipal solid waste is mainly incinerated in grate systems the preferred combustion technology for sewage sludge is fluidized bed furnaces. Industrial and hazardous waste is preferentially burnt in rotary kilns, which are typically followed by high temperature combustion chambers. In recent years various alternative thermal treatment systems, mainly combinations of pyrolysis, gasification, and combustion, have been developed in Europe and Japan. Several such systems are in operation in Japan but have not yet made it to market in other countries.