Incineration Plants Research Articles

Optimization of Energy Recovery from Hazardous Waste in a Waste Incineration Plant with the Use of an Application

Recovering energy from waste is a positive element in the operation of a waste incineration plant. Hazardous waste is a very diverse group, including in terms of its fuel properties. Carrying out the thermal process in this case is associated with the difficulty in maintaining stable conditions. This may translate into the efficiency of energy recovery from waste. The article presents a tool supporting the work of hazardous waste incineration plant operators, the aim of which is to select waste for a batch of input material in a manner that ensures process stability and efficient energy recovery. The tool is an application in which the bee algorithm is implemented. It selects the optimal solution to the problem, in accordance with the assumed parameters. The application tests in laboratory conditions were satisfactory and indicated compliance with the assumptions and stability of the solution.

Comparative analysis of environmental costs, economic return and social impact of national-level municipal solid waste management schemes in Thailand

This research comparatively investigates fifteen national-level integrated municipal solid waste (MSW) management schemes and determines the most preferable MSW scheme that attaches equal importance to the environmental, economic, and social impacts. The fifteen schemes are one business as usual (BAU) scheme, seven composting- and seven biogas production-oriented schemes. All the MSW schemes rely on incinerators and refuse derived fuel (RDF) processing for waste disposal. The environmental impacts and costs are quantified by Stepwise2006 based on ecoinvent database. The economic return is evaluated based on the net present value of the construction and operation cost. The affected local community area is the indicator of public perception toward the waste disposal projects (i.e., social impact). The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is used to determine the most preferable scheme. The results showed that MSW combustion by incineration and RDF is the main contributor of environmental impacts. The environmental costs of composting schemes were lower than those of biogas production schemes. Total environmental cost of scheme 7 (i.e., 25% recycling, 50% decomposing, 5% biogas production, two incineration plants, and seven RDF plants) is the lowest (7492.63 billion THB2020). The cash inflow of BAU is lowest and the cash outflow is highest. In comparison with the biogas production schemes, the cash inflows and outflows of composting schemes are lower. Scheme 7 is the most preferable MSW management scheme, given the highest AHP priority score (0.228). Therefore, the composting-incineration-RDF scheme (scheme 7) should be adopted to treat biodegradable and combustible waste.

From waste incineration by-products to functional materials: a “Chimie douce” route to VOCs mineral adsorbents

One of today’s major world challenges is the accumulation and the storage of tens of millions of tons per year of final materials resulting from the incineration of domestic and industrial waste. This raises the question of the recycling of these “raw materials”, while making allowance for environmental, economic, social and public health aspects. Our strategy targets the incorporation of waste incineration by-products in a totally circular economy. We propose an innovative process combining templated sol–gel growth of an inorganic or hybrid silica-based network with a solubilized fraction of bottom ash coming from the combustion of industrial and household wastes. The resulting materials engineered via aerosol processing demonstrate maximum adsorption capacity of model pollutant compounds (1-2 dichlorobenzene) competitive with activated carbons currently used in modern incineration plants. We believe that they have the potential to replace conventional activated carbon commonly used in incineration plants, enabling the first step of the long road of recycling final waste.Graphical abstract

Estimation Complete Combustion Coefficient in Rotary Kilns

This paper presents a model-based analysis of variability of thermodynamic and chemical parameters in a rotary kiln (RK) during thermal treatment of animal waste. The core process of chemical treatment of waste takes place in RKs; the process involves heating, gasification and partial combustion of the waste. Control over these parameters, and especially the level of complete combustion, determines the quality and efficiency of the process. In operational practice, control and analysis of the variability of process parameters is complicated by the high degree of simultaneity of individual transformations, random disruptions of the process and metrological difficulties resulting from high temperature and chemical activity of the materials being processed. The purpose of preparing the model was to obtain a tool for predicting variability of selected process parameters. By definition, model calculations assume no influence of disturbances on output values, which makes it possible to acquire accurate results that can be compared with corresponding empirically obtained data. The result of the analyses conducted is a theoretical model of the analysed process and a graphical presentation of the calculation results in the form of graphs and charts. A formula for calculating the level of complete combustion and the results of calculation of this index on the basis of empirical data from an industrial waste incineration plant are also presented herein. The presented model is a useful tool providing an insight into interdependencies between selected process parameters and facilitating design of corrective actions oriented towards process optimisation.

Physiochemical properties, heavy metal leaching characteristics and reutilization evaluations of solid ashes from municipal solid waste incinerator plants.

A clear understanding of the physicochemical, compositional, morphological properties and heavy metal leaching behaviours of municipal solid waste (MSW) incinerated fly ash (FA) and bottom ash (BA) are essential to guide their respective re-utilizations. In this study, FA and BA collected from three MSW incinerator plants located in Xiamen were systematically exploited. Results indicated that FA in the three plants exhibited more porous structures than BA, and the particle sizes of FA and BA were 45-295μm and >3000μm, respectively. However, both ashes showed similar main mineralogical crystalline phases of Ca(OH)2, CaCO3 and SiO2, indicative of high feasibilities in manufacturing cement, bricks or construction materials. Additionally, the heavy metal migration of MSW into leachate, flue gas, FA and BA were all specifically measured in this study to provide full data analyses and in-depth understandings of heavy metal migrations, manifesting that the heavy metals of MSW majorly migrated into the FA and BA with clearly discrepant metal ratios and only a very small fraction migrated into the leachate and flue gas. To maximumly reuse both FA and BA, importantly, the green degree and cost-benefit analysis methods were integrated into this study to evaluate their re-utilization alternatives on environmental impacts and economic benefits, and results implied that FA was beneficial for re-utilizing as aggregates in bricks while BA was optimum as paving materials. This study provides overall systematic perspectives on guiding the re-utilization of FA/BA from the MSW incinerators and also considers their environmental and economic benefits for future long-term management.

Considering different methods of thermal utilization of municipal solid waste

The article discusses the methods of thermal utilization of municipal solid waste. The environmental burden on landfill disposal sites is reduced by waste incineration. At the same time, the production of heat energy occurs with moderately lower environmental impact. The work of an integrated district heating station was considered in the article. The influence of this installation on the environment and the features of the operation of the integrated district boiler house are considered. The study demonstrates the advantages of utilizing municipal waste at an integrated district heating plant over the method of waste incineration in a regular incineration plant.

Ensuring environmental safety through the development of waste recycling in modern Russia: development, difficulties, solutions at the regional level

The subject of the study is the system of relations arising in ensuring the environmental safety of modern Russia in the field of waste processing of solid industrial and household waste. The object of the study is the regional economy of the Volgograd region, where there are significant opportunities for the creation and development of incineration facilities. The authors consider in detail such aspects of the topic as: analysis of the development of the incineration business in the global economy; justification of the potential of the incineration business in modern Russia; analysis of the practice of creating waste disposal facilities in domestic conditions; justification of the construction of incineration plants in the Volgograd region. Special attention is paid to the economic justification of the efficiency of incineration plants in the Volgograd region. The main conclusions of the study are the following: waste disposal is currently a very promising area of business development, a powerful aspect of the growth of the regional economy of some subjects of the Russian Federation; international experience shows that a very powerful economic potential is already involved in this area, especially in the most developed countries of the global economy; the modern market offers a wide range of technical and managerialcommercial funds for the development of waste disposal enterprises; in many regions of Russia there is high business activity for the development of waste disposal enterprises, but this activity encounters environmental restrictions and inertia on the part of environmental organizations; creating conditions for the development of waste recycling facilities in the Volgograd region will have a high economic effect and will have a positive impact on the overall socio-economiceconomic development of the region. A special contribution of the authors to the study of the topic is its actualization and attraction of rich world experience. The novelty of the research lies in the adaptation of the research topic to the practical conditions of the Volgograd region and other regions of Russia.

Performance assessment of a novel medical-waste-to-energy design based on plasma gasification and integrated with a municipal solid waste incineration plant

A novel medical-waste-to-energy design combining plasma gasification (treating medical waste) and municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration has been developed. In the integrated system, the syngas generated by the plasma gasification of medical waste is first burned and drives the gas turbine for power generation, subsequently, the gas turbine exhaust is taken to heat the live steam and feedwater of the MSW incineration plant, improving the power cycle of the incineration plant. Consequently, medical waste can be converted into electricity efficiently in the meantime of harmless management. The hybrid design was investigated by multiple approaches including energy analysis, exergy analysis, and economic analysis. It is found that the energy efficiency and exergy efficiency of medical-waste-to-electricity can reach up to 37.83% and 34.91% with a net total power of 4.24 MW yielded from medical waste, while the net power generated from MSW is considered fixed. Besides, the proposed medical-waste-to-electricity project has a short dynamic payback period of 3.75 years and the relative net present value can achieve 45,239.90 k$. These results demonstrate that the novel concept is efficient, feasible, and advantageous, which is promising to be implemented in the field of waste-to-energy.

Machine learning models for prediction the Higher Heating Value (HHV) of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) for waste-to-energy evaluation

Time-resolved knowledge of physico-chemical properties of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) materials and their thermal energy content is one of the important subjects needed to build waste incineration power plants around the world. For this purpose, machine learning models were used to predict the Higher Heating Value (HHV) of MSW based on the initial materials. Four types of machine learning methods: Radial Bias Function Artificial Neural Network (RBF-ANN), Multilayer Perceptron Artificial Neural Network (MLP-ANN), Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Adaptive Nero-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) were used for modeling the HHV with six different inputs (carbon, water, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and ash). The results showed that RBF-ANN can predict the HHV of MSW with higher accuracy than other models. The overall Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) for MLP-ANN, SVM and ANFIS models were 7.3, 11.77 and 23.76%, respectively. The MAPE of the best topology for RBF model (6-17-1) with spread factor of 0.8 reach to 0.45%. Finally, the results of this study proved that ANN's can be used as a practical tool with high accuracy and reliability for design and management of waste incineration plants.

DEVELOPMENT OF PRİORİTİES AND PROSPECTS OF RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES IN AZERBAIJAN

DEVELOPMENT OF PRİORİTİES AND PROSPECTS OF RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES IN AZERBAIJAN

Experimental study and reaction mechanism on the process of Br addition for mercury emission control

Application of halogen additive (CaCl2, CaBr2) has recently been shown to decrease Hg0 concentration significantly in the hazardous waste incineration flue gas. However, the reaction mechanism of Hg0 oxide active substance has currently not yet been studied. In this paper, the effect of CaBr2 on Hg0 oxidation under different combustion conditions and the reaction mechanism of effective reaction components (bromine free radicals) detected by the EPR (Electron Paramagnetic Resonance) method are studied. For the first time, the correlation between bromine radical and Hg0 oxidation is shown, which eventually affects the transformation path of Hg0 in the flue gas. Under different working conditions, the oxidation effect of CaBr2 solution additives on Hg0 in flue gas has been verified in the experiment platform. CaBr2 can still effectively oxidize Hg0 in complex flue gas conditions of the hazardous waste incineration plant. These results provide a new fundamental understanding of the oxidation path of Hg0 under the influence of bromine free radicals and show that spraying calcium bromide solution is an effective means to avoid atmospheric Hg0 emissions, contributing to its global distribution in a significant way.

Waste management in switzerland and remarks to other countries

To understand the different situations in all countries it is necessary to compare the different mentality, financial situation, culture, politic, low and other influencing factors. Therefore, it is not possible to transfer one system from one country to another without special control of all possible situations. In most of the countries, cheap landfilling is popular. In Switzerland, since about 40 years ago landfilling of household waste was not allowed. The small county with 8.5 mi. inhabitants operate 25 incinerator plants for household- and hospital waste. There is also a recycling system in Switzerland, but recycling is too expensive. For this aspect, for most products a small part for the waste management is included in the selling price. The recycler gets this money paid by the waste foundation.

Characteristics, correlations and health risks of PCDD/Fs and heavy metals in surface soil near municipal solid waste incineration plants in Southwest China

As primary anthropogenic emission source of toxic pollutants such as heavy metals and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration has caused worldwide concern. However, a comprehensive analysis of the pollution characteristics and health risks of PCDD/Fs and heavy metals in soils around MSW incineration plants is lacking. In this study, 17 PCDD/Fs and 11 heavy metals in soil samples collected near MSW incineration plants in Sichuan province were investigated to evaluate their pollution characteristics and potential health risk. Sichuan was selected as the study area because the MSW incineration amount in this province ranks first among all inland provinces in China. The PCDD/Fs concentrations ranged from 0.30 to 7.50 ng I-TEQ/kg, which were significantly below risk screening and intervention thresholds. Regarding heavy metals, principal component analysis suggested that Hg, Pb and Zn were the primary metals emitted from the MSW incineration plants. Cluster analysis of PCDD/Fs and heavy metals showed that of PCDD/Fs homologs and heavy metals (e.g., Hg, Pb, Zn and Cd) were clustered into one group, indicating the coexistence and coaccumulation of heavy metals (especially Hg, Pb, Zn, and Cd) and PCDD/Fs in soil. These heavy metals are thus candidate tracers for PCDD/Fs in soil near MSW incineration plants. A health risk analysis found that the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks of PCDD/Fs and heavy metals (except for Ni) in the soil samples were all within acceptable levels. This study provides new insights into correlations and health risks of PCDD/Fs and heavy metals in surface soil near MSW incineration plants. The findings have implications for future studies of environmental and human health risk analysis related to waste incineration.

Proposal of planning process toward the creation of multifaceted value to the region by waste incineration plants

Proposal of planning process toward the creation of multifaceted value to the region by waste incineration plants

Coupling of Alkaline and Mechanical Modified Fly Ash for Hcl and So2 Removal in the Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Plant

Coupling of Alkaline and Mechanical Modified Fly Ash for Hcl and So2 Removal in the Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Plant

Task-Relevant Encoding of Domain Knowledge in Dynamics Modeling: Application to Furnace Forecasting From Video

Waste incineration plants are complex dynamical systems that rely on expert human operators to maintain steady combustion, by observing real-time in-chamber video feeds. Real-time plant forecasting provides vital operational support in decision making, and applying machine learning to automatically learn dynamics forecast models from video feeds is an attractive means to realise this. However, learning complex dynamics in systems that requires cost-efficiency remains an open research problem. Specifically, modelling plant dynamics in real-time is challenging due to uncertainties caused by inhomogeneous waste inputs, requiring complex learning that impedes real-time modelling. To address this, this paper presents a real-time data-driven framework for generating video forecasts, by incorporating <i>task-relevant domain-knowledge</i>, during learning. Specifically, this method combines dynamics modelling and forecasting using <i>dynamic mode decomposition</i>, with <i>Fourier transformations</i> informed by expert operator heuristic knowledge for encoding task-relevant frequency information inside the learning process. Experiments in this paper demonstrate that the proposed framework captures intuitive physical aspects of the underlying physiochemical process, with a greatly reduced computational runtime in comparison to standard approaches, allowing for application in real-time domains. Forecasted video predictions are accurate over short time horizons, and capture important system characteristics over longer time periods.

Thermal Analysis and Optimizing Exergy and Energy of a Modified Incinerator Plant with an Orc

Thermal Analysis and Optimizing Exergy and Energy of a Modified Incinerator Plant with an Orc

Pcdd/Fs in Indoor Environments of Residential Communities Around a Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Plant in East China: Occurrence, Sources, and Cancer Risks

Pcdd/Fs in Indoor Environments of Residential Communities Around a Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Plant in East China: Occurrence, Sources, and Cancer Risks

Investments and the NIMBY Syndrome in Waste Management – Analysis Based on the Example of the Małopolskie Voivodeship

The aim of the article was to determine to what extent the NIMBY syndrome may hinder the implementation of investments in waste management in the Małopolskie Voivodeship. The background of the analysis was the premise of the European Green Deal, including the need to implement a circular economy. The article consists of an analysis of investment outlays in waste management in Małopolska, defining the NIMBY syndrome, and an analysis of the results of a survey conducted among respondents in the region. It was found that potential investments in waste management should not encounter financing problems. In terms of public resistance, social protests can be triggered by investments in the form of landfills and waste incineration plants. Investments related to waste recycling raised less public objection. Social opposition also grew when the more pejorative name of the facility was used.

Impact of COVID-19 Case Numbers on the Emission of Pollutants from a Medical Waste Incineration Plant

This article examines the correlation between the amount of pollutants emitted from medical waste incinerator plant and the number of COVID-19 infections, based on the example of Podlaskie Voivodeship in Poland. This paper deals with the issues of medical waste management during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thermal processing is characterised as a method of medical waste utilisation. The technological sequence of the medical waste incineration installation and the integrated exhaust gas cleaning system are discussed. The results of studies on the emission of pollutants into the atmosphere during combustion are compared with the number of COVID-19 cases in the same voivodeship to investigate how the coronavirus pandemic affects the amount of medical waste generated, thus the amount of pollutants emitted into the atmosphere. The Pearson's linear correlation coefficient and the Student's t-test are used to verify the results. The analysis results show a statistically significant, moderate positive correlation between the amount of covid waste and the number of COVID-19 cases (0.5140). In turn, there is also a statistically significant moderate correlation between the number of COVID-19 cases and emissions of SO2 (r = 0.6256, p = 0.010), NOx (0.5019, p = 0.048), and HCl (0.5130, p = 0.042). This correlation finding highlights additional costs to the environment and public health as the number of COVID-19 cases increase, which can be taken into account for pandemic planning by governments in the future.