WASTES INCINERATION

PLANTS
 CRITERIA OF WASTE
CLASSIFICATION FROM ENERGY
UTILISATION STANDPOINT
 MAJOR TYPES OF WASTES

1. Municipal
2. Medical
3. Industrial
4. Sewage sladge
5. Agriculture wastes
6. Building wastes
7. Opakowania
8. Ashes
9. Fuels from wastes
 EU’s WASTE CLASSIFICATION

In EU (and in
Poland) waste ore
divided into 20
groups (which are
followed by
subgroups and
sorts).
 SAFETY CRITERION

In every group and in every subgroup

there are dangerous wastes, which were
specified.
 COMBUSTIBLE AND
NONCOMBUSTIBLE WASTES

Wastes could be divided from the standpoint of

possibility of utilization of their heat of combustion:

− combustible, like:
paper, plastic, wood, leather, gum, food, garden residues,
fabrics and others,

− noncombustible, like:
glass, ceramic, stones, metals and others.
 CRITERION OF COMBUSTIBILITY
OF WASTES
Notion of combustibility:
– notion of combustibility is not obvious,
– it requires criteria of combustibility

There are three major factors deciding on combustibility of

wastes:

o moisture content (< 50 %),

o burning matter content (min. 25 %),
o ash content (< 60 %).
 TANNER’S CRITERION OF
COMBUSTIBILITY OF WASTES

Tanner’s diagram shows the area of combustibility of wastes.

WASTE INCINERATION PLANTS
(WIP)
 DEVELOPMENT OF WIP
I –st generation (1950-1965)
• major objectives: reduction of volume of waste and maximum burning,
• development of furnaces waste burning (mainly grates),
• usually lack of heat utilization,
• lack of flue gas cleaning.

II-nd generation (1960-1975)

• dedusting of flue gas,
• utilization of waste heat (heat utilization boilers).

III-rd generation (1975-1990)

• reduction of gaseous pollutant emissions (mainly sulfur, chlorine and fluor
compounds,
• reduction of heavy metals reduction,
• problems with safety of storage of solid residues,
• improvement of waste heat utilization.

IV-th generation (1990-)

• improvement of effectiveness of flue gas cleaning, mainly from NOx, dioxins and
furans,
• improvement of parameters of solid aside products of waste utilization (ash) to safety
storage:
- cement blocks,
- vitrification.
CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF WIP

1. Reduction of wastes volume (up to 90%) and

weight (up to 65%).
2. Wastes organic matter incineration.
3. Utilization of combustion heat of waste.
4. Meeting of gaseous pollutant emissions limits.
5. Safety of landfill of solid residue of waste
incineration.
MAJOR COMPONENTS OF WIP

a) Waste receipt and handling installation

b) A combustion system
c) Heat recovery system (boiler)
d) Air pollution control system
e) Combustion solid residue handling system
 CONFIGURATION OF WIP

Przetwarzanie Obróbka termiczna Odzysk Oczyszczanie

wsadu (spalanie) ciepła spalin
Odpady

Składowisko

Gorąca woda
Para wodna Surowce
Energia elektryczna wtórne
 WASTES CINCINERATION SYSTEMS

I. Incineration management
– waste burning,
– waste co-firing in: heating plants, power plants and cement plants
II. Incineration technology
– waste combustion,
– waste pyrolysis,
– waste gasification.
III. Waste type
– municipal solid waste incineration plants (MSWIP),
– sewage sludge incineration plants,
– hazardous waste incineration plants.
SOLID WASTES BURNING
SYSTEMS
SOLID WASTES BURNING FURNACES

1. Pusher furnaces
2. Suspension burning systems
3. Grates
4. Fluidised bed systems
5. Rotary kilns
6. Multiple hearth furnaces
 APPLICATIONS OF WASTE BURNING SYSTEMS
Furnace

Type of waste
Pusher Rotary
Jet furnaces Fluidized
furnaces kilns
beds

Solid:
∗ ∗ ∗
− grains, uniform,
∗ ∗ ∗
− non-uniform, thick,
∗ ∗ ∗
− organic compounds
- with easy melting ash. ∗
Gaseous:
∗ ∗ ∗
− heavy organic vapours.
∗ ∗
Liquid:
∗ ∗
− organic liquids,
∗ ∗ ∗
− water wastes with high content of
∗
organic compounds.
Solids/sludge:
∗ ∗
− sludge.
 PUSHER FURNACES

ADVANTAGES
-simple design
-low cost
-easy maintenance
-combustion control
DISADVANTAGES
-manual service
-low capacity

Pusher
ADVANTAGES
-reliability GRATES
-wide range thermal
load variation
-ability to burn
different types of waste
-low requirement of
waste dispersion
DISADVANTAGES
-complicated drive
-careful conservation
required
-expensive
MECHANISM OF WASTE BURNING
ON GRATE
 FLUIDIZED BED FURNACES

ADVANTAGES:
-long residence time
-good burntout
-ability to burn wastes with 60% of water
-lack of mooving parts
DISADVANTAGES
-exploitation problems
-complicated system of supply
-large emissions of dust
-require automatic control
 Circulating fuidized bed boiler 91.2 MWth, 31.8 kg/s,
59 bar, 480°C
FUEL: Industrial
waste,
Demolition wood

PENDENT SUPERHEATER

IDLE PASS

CONVENTIONAL
FURNACE AND
SEPARATOR

INTREX SH

Example of a
STOCKHOLM ENERGI AB STEP GRID waste
HÖGDALEN, SWEDEN
•© PIIRTEK OY
sample
ROTARY KILNS
 ROTARY KILNS
ADVANTAGES:
-good burntout
-universal
-wide range of the temperature
-long residence time (0.5-1.5 h)
-ability to burn wastes of 60% of water
-ability to burn waster of different shapes and sizes
DISADVANTAGES
-complicated design
-limited capacity (< 8 t/h)
-expensive
 MULTIPLE HEARTH FURNACES

ADVANTAGES:
-ability to burn sludge
-long residence time
-good burntout
DISADAVANTAGES
-complicated design
-require drive
-limited capacity
-expensive
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR APPLICATION
OF SELECTED FURNACES
Type of waste
Type of
furnace hospital/
municipal dangerous sewage sludge
medical
Grates ∗∗ ∗ ∗ n

Rotary ∗ ∗ ∗∗ ∗
kilns
Fluidized ∗ n ∗ ∗∗

Pyrolitic ∗ ∗∗ ∗ ∗
pushers
** - basic
*- applied
n – not recommended
PROBLEMS OF BURNING OF
SOLID WASTES
 SELECTED PROBLEMS OF SOLID
WASTES BURNING

•Dust emission
•Gaseous pollutant emissions
•Emission of dioxins and furans
•Landfill of waste ashes
•Exploitation of waste incinerators
 PROBLEMS OF EXPLOITATION OF
SOLID WASTE INCINERATORS

•Localization of waste incinerator

•Transport of wastes
•Odours from incinerators
•Landfill of waste ashes
•Safety of incineration staff
•Technical problems
 SOME TECHNICAL PROBLEMS OF
SOLID WASTED INCINERATORS

Corrosion of heat-exchanging surfaces

Burn throughout of grates

Deposits at the hest exchanging surfaces

Ash sintering and defluidization
 ASH SINTERING

Ash sintering in fluidized bed during sewage sludge burning

Mineur M., The behaviour of a stationary fluidised bed upon the combustion of sewage sludge, VGB PowerTech, 12, 2002, pp. 84-87
ASH DEPOSITION ON HEAT
EXCHANGING SURFACES
CORROSION OF HEAT EXCHANGING
SURFACES