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Wednesday, June 02, 2010 Edit This 0 Comments »
Thermal treatment of waste if the combustion of MSW under controlled conditions, recovering renewable energy in the form of electricity and/or heat - EfW or WtE. This process includes incineration, gasification and pyrolysis.

CV for MSW is typiclly 9MJ/kg - Feed hopper, Flue Gas, Drying, Pyrolysis, Combustion, Burnout, Ash quench. Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) / Waste Derived Fuel (WDF) is the high calorific fraction of processed MSW. Glass and metal don't have the calorific value.

There are 4 thermal processes:
  • Gasification=some air
  • Advance thermal treatment - incineration with energy recovery
  • Pyrolysis=no air
  • Incineration=excess of hair
Process of Incineration:
(i) organic substances converted to gases (C and H in waste converted to CO2 and H20)
(ii) Gas and particles burnt

Advantages:
  • Can occur near to the site collection
  • No CH4 is produced
  • Source of energy
  • Bottom ash residues can be re-used
  • Large volume reduction
  • Resulting in a biologically sterile ash product
Disadvantages:
  • Higher costs compared to landfill
  • Production of residue
  • Perception of the emissions affecting the human health
  • Perception of hungry burners
  • Lack of flexibility - WMS must be functioning for many years, stable supply at least 100,000 t/yr, Lowest CV at least 7MJ/kg, long contracts in place-must be more than 15 years, hence high capital cost, planning and public opposition can be resolved
  • Design to specific CV
Chemistry of combustion:
C20H32O10 + 02 -> CO2 + H20

Effective combustion:
  • Temperature
  • Residence Time
  • Turbulence
  • Excess of oxygen
Mass Burn Incineration:
  • Lots of oxygen
  • A degree of pre-sorting
  • 25t/day up to more than 3000t/day
Recent development:
  • Fluidised Bed Incinerators - fuel sand particles are combusted in the furnace while getting suspended in a stream of hot gas. Gases and bed material mixed to ensure complete combustion. Can be used to incinerate liquids, sludges, solids and gases.
  • Legislation - get the permit from IPPC, control emissions by ECWID, UK WIR, Ash disposal according to Landfill Directive
Advantages of fluidised bed:
  • High combustion efficiency
  • Less ash
  • Good emissions control
  • Better combustion condition
  • Residence time calculations are reliable
  • Perception of being more environmentally responsible than mass burn incineration
Disadvantages of fluidised bed:
  • Ash is still produced
  • Requires pre-sorting
  • Slower than a mass burn-unit
  • Limited us in the UK
  • High capital costs
  • Negative public perception
  • Dioxin emissions
  • Minimum tonnage required

Okay, haha since i could not get my hands off the lappy, I think it's time to turn 'blogging' into something useful! This is the summary from one of the topics for my final paper later, in a bout 6 hours!

Love,
Fizzah

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