Chapter 6 Incineration

Burning of wastes is perhaps one of the oldest method employed

besides landfilling in solid waste management. When the burning is
conducted in a closed space it is referred to as incineration.
Incineration is also sometimes referred to as the chemical
transformation of solid waste. Incineration has the main objective of
volume reduction when the chemical transformation process occurs
during burning and helps to generate heat for energy conversion if
required. Incineration as opposed to open burning involves the
burning of materials under controlled conditions which should
address the need to minimize or very little environmental impact to
humans, animals and plant life. With this aim in mind, many
developed countries have adopted incineration as the main means in
solid waste treatment as mentioned in the previous chapter.
Following are the topics of discussion related to incineration
principles and management :
6.1 Fundamentals
i.

Materials
- Combustible/incinerable waste
- source of ignition/heat
- oxygen/air (if required)

ii.

Combustion Requirement 3T
- Temperature. The temperature must be sufficient to burn
the materials
- Residence time. The materials must be exposed to heat
to burn in a given time to reduce to final residue and ash.
- Turbulence. The materials must be mixed to ensure high
burning efficiency.

iii.

Chamber incinerator or furnace equipped with/without

pollution control equipment and energy recovery facilities.

6.1.1 Chemical Properties of MSW

Before incineration is the method to be adopted for treatment of solid
waste, important information on the chemical composition of the
components of the waste must be obtained to evaluate the
effectiveness of the combustion process. The solid waste should then
be considered as a fuel and there are four important properties to be
identified :
i.

ii.

iii.
iv.

ultimate analysis involves the determination of the major

elements C, H, O, N, S, ash. Besides these elements, the
halogens (esp. Cl ) content may also be required to meet
stringent air pollution control requirement.
proximate analysis measure the composition based on
moisture content, volatile matter (combustible), fixed carbon
(the residue left after removal of volatile matter) and ash (the
final residue left after combustion in an open crucible)
energy content determined by the use of bomb calorimeter
or by calculation if elemental composition is known.
Fusing point of ash temperature at which the ash melts
and form clinker by fusion and agglomeration typically
around 1100 1200 C.

6.1.2 Combustion theory

a.

Incinerable waste that should be considered for thermal

treatment principally are organic compounds i.e. containing
carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and sulphur.
When exposed to heat and air, the natural process of oxidation
occurs where :
C

O2

CO2

H2

/2O2

H2O

O2

SO2

Since oxygen is present in air, the amount of stoichiometric oxygen

required for the combustion will have to deduct the amount of oxygen

present in the waste compound. Once this amount is obtained, since

oxygen make up 21% of air by volume, then the stoichiometric air
required in the combustion will be 4.76 times by the amount of
elemental C, H2 and O2 present in the compounds. An e.g. for the
calculation of stoichiometric O2 and air is shown below :
Component Weight % MW
C
34.5
12
H
4.6
2
O
28.9
32
N
0.6
28
S
0.1
32
Moisture
26.9
18
Ash
4.4
Total
100 kg
Based on 100 kg waste analysed

kmol
2.88
2.30
0.91
0.02
0.003
1.49
-

Stoich O2
C+O2 CO2 : 2.88
H2+1/2O2H2O : 1.15
-0.91
S+O2 SO2 : 0.003
3.123

Since the amount of O2 required is

= 3.123 kmol /100 kg waste

Then the air required is

= 3.123 x 100 =14.87 kg-mol air

21
= 14.87 x 22.4 = 3.33 m3/kg waste
100

Since at. Wt. of air = 28.9 kg/mol, = 14.87 x 28.9 = 4.30 kg/kg waste
100
Assumptions made in the calculations :
1. Air consists of oxygen and nitrogen only and the ratio is
O2 : N2 = 21 % : 79 %
2. The N2 present in the air is assumed not oxidized to its various
nitrogen compounds but the N2 leaves as flue gas. i.e. [(14.873.123) + 0.02 (N2 in fuel)= 11.76 kmol]
b.
Excess air is usually used in combustion
because in practical, it is impossible to burn the heterogeneous solid
waste (or any kind of fuel for that matter) without using excess air to

bring about combustion efficiency. Other advantages of providing

excess air include reducing the flue gas temperature. Nevertheless
the amount of excess air should be controlled so that the temperature
remains to be above 800 C to prevent odour formation and at higher
temperatures the more serious volatile organic carbons, dioxins and
furans can be much reduced.
If the previous waste is burned with 30% excess air, then the
composition (vol%) of the dry flue gas, weight and temperature are
calculated as follows :
Theoretical air required =

14.87 , but 30 % excess air is supplied

Actual air supply

= 14.87 x 130
100

= 19.33 kmol

This consists of

= 79 x19.33
100

= 15.27 kmol N2

The balance of which = 19.33 15.27 = 4.06 kmol is oxygen

Component kmol kmol O2 required
C
H
S
N
O

2.88 2.88
2.30 1.15
0.003 0.003
From excess air

Total

Kmol
flue
product
2.88 CO2
2.30 + 1.49=3.79
0.003
15.27+0.02=15.29
4.06 -3.123
=0.937
22.9 (19.11 *)

Vol % *
15.07
0.02
80.01
4.90
100

* Dry basis only. Usually reported, CO 2, N2 and O2 only (since SO2 is

small, the amount is grouped in CO 2. Thus for the case above, CO2 is
reported as 15.09%)
The calculations above have been simplified. See example 9-2 (pg
294) and 13-1 (pg 613) for more information.

6.2 TYPES OF INCINERATORS

There are several types of incinerators used for the treatment of solid
waste which depends on :
i)
ii)
iii)

the technology ranging from simplest to sophisticated

the quantity of the waste
the categories of waste

Simple type
Open Burning
Burn Barrel
Open Pit
- Simple, cheap
- Suitable for small quantity, remote location
- Disadvantage : fire hazard
no air pollution control
high health risk

Closed chamber
Single chamber
- simplest,
- air pollution control not effective
Retort multiple chamber
- Flue gas secondary burning available
- Better emission control
* Small Quantity of waste
* Not considered as WTE facility

6.2.2 Waste to Energy Facilities

Starved-air / Pyrolysis
Fluidised Bed
Multiple hearth
Moving grate furnace
Rotary Kiln

Pyrolysis
No stoichiometric air for combustion is supplied
Heat dependant
Size reduction of waste required prior to incineration
Partial combustion generating gases that can be utilised
as syn-gas (fuel)
Not preferred for MSW incineration (heterogeneous)
Starved air - 70-80% stoichiometric air
- requires size reduction
- off gas burnt in secondary chamber

Fluidised Bed

Uses high pressure and high velocity air through sand-bed

Waste requires segregation and size reduction

Small feed rate of waste to ensure combustion efficiency
3 Multiple hearth
Use to burn sludges
Hearth at different level equipped with rotating shafts for
combustion efficiency
High excess air required 75 125%
4 Rotary Kiln Incinerator
Rotary Drum lined with refractory
Can incinerate a wide variety of waste
Residence time can be controlled very easily
Uniform contact of waste with air ensuring complete combustion
Disadvantage high particulate emission, air requirement and heat
loss.
5 Moving grate
Waste move on sloping rocking grate in primary chamber
Direct fire beneath the grate ensuring high combustion efficiency
Flue gas is burnt in secondary chamber requiring high additional
fuel
High cost in design, installation, power requirement and
maintenance

4.3 DESIGN OF INCINERATORS

Material and Heat Balance Calculations
To perform the material balance calculations involving solid waste
incineration, we first need to segregate between the combustibles,
non combustibles and moisture content. The combustibles are
usually the organic compounds containing C, H and O which in
physical terms, they are : food waste, paper, cardboard, plastics,
textiles, rubber, leather, yard wastes, wood and miscellaneous
organics. The inorganic compounds which usually are not
considered combustibles are glass, tin cans, aluminium, other
metals, dirt, ashes, etc. The water content in the waste will
evaporate out as the heating progresses in a combustor.
See e.g. 13-2 (pg 616) for materials and heat balance calculations.
BASIC PRINCIPLE FOR MASS BALANCE
Waste
(C, H,O, S, N,
Inert)
Excess O2
Air (O2, N2)

Incinerator
C + O2 CO2
H2 + 1/2 O2 H2O
S + O2 SO2
O2 (fuel) combines with O2 in air
N2 (fuel) combines with N2 in air

Flue gas
CO2
H2O
SO2
N2
N2
Inert

BASIC PRINCIPLE FOR ENERGY BALANCE

Incinerator
Waste
CV
Heated

Enthalpy of reactions
Heat loss by radiation to the
walls of the chamber
Latent heats of evaporation of
H2O
Heat loss in unburned carbon
Sensible heat in residue

Flue gas, Tflue

Air, Tin

Inert, Tinert

4.4 PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE USE OF INCINERATOR

a. Emission ; Gas and particulates
The products of combustion of the organic compounds should
ideally be CO2, H2O and harmless N2. However due to the conditions
and heterogeneousity of the compounds found in a solid waste, the
gases emitted from an incinerator are NO x, SO2, CO, Particulate
Matter, metals, acid gases, dioxins and furans.
i. NOx are either formed by i) the reaction between oxygen and
nitrogen from air at high temperatures - thermal NO x or ii) the
reaction between oxygen and nitrogen from fuel Fuel NO x . The
environmental concerns of these compounds are that they contribute
to smog, acid fog and rain.
ii. SO2 is formed from the combustion and in large quantities can
contribute to health problems for people suffering from asthma and
bronchitis and also contribute to acid rains.
iii. Inefficient combustion of the carbon compounds in the solid
waste can lead to the formation of CO. Hence the performance of an
incinerator can also be checked by the amount of CO produced. A
high amount of CO does not only indicate the poor performance of
the incinerator however more importantly the detrimental effects to
health which can cause headaches and nausea when it enters the
bloodstream.
iv. Particulate matter should be arrested and kept to the very
minimum in an incinerator facility to avoid environmental and health
effects. Suspended particles in the air reduce visibility for traffic
movement. Besides, serious health can be affected due to inhalation
of the particles. As such incinerator facility should be equipped with
control devices e.g. settling chambers, cyclones, mechanical
separators, bag-house filter or electrostatic precipitators. (Refer to pg
641 644)
v. Metals which are of concern are Cadmium, Chromium, Mercury
and Lead. It would be good to separate the compounds containing
these metals before incineration to avoid these metals being burnt
and vapourises and then entrained in the flue gas or carried in the
particulate matter or being deposited in the bottom ash. Mercury and

lead in particular should be kept to the very minimum to avoid

detrimental effects to health.
v. Acid gases such as HCL and HF are typically the acid gases
produced from the combustion of chloride and fluoride containing
compounds mainly from plastics. The acid gases also contribute
to acid rain. To control their emission usually wet or dry scrubbers
are used where the acid is neutralized using alkaline material e.g.
CaO. (Refer pg 645 646)
vii. Dioxins and furans are thought to be carcinogens which are
produced from the complex reaction of the heterogeneous waste
mainly due to chlorine containing compounds (mainly the plastics)
during the combustion. Their presence is perhaps the most
controversial issues that the public is against incineration. Dioxins
and furans are usually controlled by using filter beds or wet or dry
scrubbers. However, research are still being carried out to prove their
direct cause to cancer and other related diseases. Hence this subject
is still open to much debate.
b. Ash and Solids Discharge and management
There are two types of ash formed from the combustion. First is fly
ash and second the bottom ash. The fly ash is the submicron solids
entrained in the combustion gases as it moves to the stack. The fly
ash can be captured via the air pollution control equipment in the
facility. The bottom ash predominantly composed of the noncombustible and unburned material. Generally the bottom ash should
not be hazardous and can be found to be useful as building materials
or for road making purposes. However the ash discharge should be
regularly monitored to ensure the heavy metals content is below the
permissible limits to avoid release to the environment.
Solids discharge include the scrubber products separated as cake
which would contain the heavy metals and other materials. Besides
the solid residue, the waste water during cleaning may also contain
the heavy metals. Hence great care has to be taken during handling
of these products.