How Does An Incinerator Work? A Complete Guide to the Waste Incineration Process

March 4, 2024

Waste incineration is a key process in modern waste management systems. This article provides a comprehensive overview of how incinerators work, the waste incineration process, and the role of incineration in an integrated waste management strategy.

Incineration is an important waste treatment technology that combusts waste material at high temperatures. Incinerators reduce waste volumes by up to 90%, making them a vital tool for diverting waste from landfills. Additionally, incineration allows energy and material recovery from waste.

This guide covers everything you need to know about incinerator technology, design, operation, emissions controls, regulations, and more. Read on to gain an in-depth understanding of incinerators and their function in the waste management industry.

What is Waste Incineration?

Waste incineration is the combustion of waste under controlled conditions in specially engineered incinerators equipped with advanced air pollution control technology. Incineration uses high temperatures (900-1500°F) to break down and change the chemical composition of waste materials.

Incineration serves two primary purposes:

  1. Volume Reduction: It dramatically reduces volumes of municipal solid waste, medical waste, and hazardous waste to ash, thus conserving valuable landfill space. On average, the volume of waste is reduced by 90% after incineration. 
  2. Energy Recovery: Heat from incineration can be used to generate electric power. Some incinerators are equipped for energy recovery, making waste-to-energy a renewable energy source.

Modern incinerators drastically reduce emissions through integrated process control systems and advanced flue gas treatment technology.

How Does An Incinerator Work? Key Components and Process

Incinerators are large industrial furnaces designed for the controlled and efficient combustion of waste. Let’s look at the key components and how they work together:

Waste Storage & Handling

Specialized waste cranes and conveyors deliver waste securely into storage bunkers at the incinerator facility. Strict waste inspection protocols are followed to control what enters the incinerator.

Primary Combustion Chamber

Waste enters the primary combustion chamber, where it ignites and burns at 850-1000°C under excess air conditions. On grates or raised hearths, waste dries, volatilizes, ignites, and burns. Air systems precisely control air for proper combustion.

Secondary Combustion Chamber

Partially burned gases from the primary chamber flow to the secondary chamber, reaching 1200-1500°C for a minimum 2-second gas residence time to complete gas combustion.

Heat Recovery & Energy Generation

Hot gases from combustion exchange heat through boiler tube walls, generating steam for electrical power generation. State-of-art systems recover 14-28% of waste energy.

Emission Control System

Flue gases pass through emissions control systems containing scrubbers, neutralization sprays, fabric filters, and electrostatic precipitators to capture air pollutants.

Residue Handling System

Mineral ash remnants and air pollution control residues are cooled, treated, and tested before disposal or beneficial use such as road construction.

What Materials Can Be Incinerated?

Incineration is applied across various waste categories:

  • Municipal Solid Waste (MSW): Everyday waste, including paper, plastics, textiles, food scraps, packaging etc. MSW makes up over 90% of incinerated waste. 
  • Hazardous Waste: Solvents, industrial residues, specified hospital wastes, mixed hazardous/solid waste. Special hazardous waste incinerators operate under strict emissions limits. 
  • Sewage Sludge: Incineration of wastewater solids reduces volume and locks in nutrients for agricultural land application. 
  • Medical & Infectious Waste: Needle incinerators and 2-stage controlled air incinerators treat infectious, pathological and trace chemo wastes. 

Key Benefits of Waste Incineration

Modern incineration plants can offer substantial advantages:

  • Up to 90% volume reduction, increasing landfill life.
  • Energy recovery & renewable power generation lowering consumption of virgin fuels.
  • Complete destruction of hazardous organic compounds.
  • Pathogen destruction for improved public health and safety.
  • Controlled air emissions are much lower than those of older incinerators.

Additionally, incineration facilities sometimes recover metals for recycling from combustion bottom ash.

Common Incinerator Types

There are various engineered systems and integration levels seen at incineration facilities:

Mass Burn Incinerators

The predominant type is used for untreated mixed municipal solid waste. High volume throughput continuous units thermally size and mix waste on grates or tumbling kilns.

Modular & Batch Incinerators

Used for consistent but smaller waste streams like industrial hazardous waste or sewage sludge. Pre-calculated batches result in optimized burns.

Rotary Kiln Incinerators

A rotating cylindrical kiln that agitates and conveys waste through the combustion chamber to control residence times. Used for hazardous waste, medical waste, and sludge.

Fluidized Bed Incinerators

Injects air from below into a bed of sand and waste materials, allowing mixing and transfer of oxygen across all waste for an efficient, complete burn.

Gasification & Pyrolysis Systems

Decompose waste via external heat to produce syngas for energy use while concentrating & reducing solids and contamination. Limited waste applications due to technical complexity.

How Are Incinerator Emissions Regulated?

Incineration plants must follow strict emissions regulations set by the EPA through operating permits, testing requirements, reporting procedures and control technology specifications. Key pollutants regulated:

  • Particulates & dust
  • Acid gases like hydrogen chloride & sulphur dioxide
  • Heavy metals, including mercury, lead and cadmium
  • Organic emissions like dioxins/furans, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and products of incomplete combustion (PICs).

Top Incinerator Emissions Control Technologies

State-of-the-art incinerators utilize advanced process control plus multiple emissions control technologies arranged sequentially for optimal capture of pollutants:

Selective Non-Catalytic Reduction (SNCR)

Ammonia or urea injection to react with and neutralize nitrogen oxide gases, preventing their release. Up to 60% NOx reduction.

Dry Sorbent Injection (DSI)

Injects powdered activated carbon to adsorb mercury, dioxins, and acid gases. Also, hydrated lime to capture sulfur and chloride gases. Achieves 95%+ acid gas neutralization.

Baghouse Fabric Filters

Multicompartment fabric filter houses actively filter particulate matter from flue gas flows through high-efficiency (~99.5%) filtration bags. Fly ash is captured for disposal.

Wet & Dry Electrostatic Precipitators (ESPs)

Dry and wet electrostatic scrubbers apply high voltage discharge wires to impart electrical charge on particles, which are then captured on grounded collection plates for removal.

Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR)

Final stage, flue gas passes over a catalyst bed, converting nitrogen oxides into nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and water vapor, achieving 90%+ NOx destruction removal efficiency.

Why is Incineration Controversial?

Incineration faces opposition over perceived association with outdated technology and pollution incidents historically. However, leading arguments against incineration are largely outdated or misleading:

Modern Incinerators Are Not Like Older Systems

Past waste burners lacked sufficient combustion controls, air systems, size for proper residence times and multi-level emissions cleaning tech. Modern incinerators bear no resemblance to these outdated, often small batch medical or industrial incinerators.

Incinerators Do Not Increase Environmental Contaminants

Latest emissions control combinations like DSI and baghouses achieve exceptional capture rates, meeting strict regulatory emissions limits. No increase or dispersion of toxins occurs under standard operation. Plus, incinerators destroy many hazardous compounds.

Yes, Incineration Releases CO2 But Offsets Other Greenhouse Gases

While carbon dioxide results from all combustion of carbon fuels and waste, incineration dramatically reduces the more potent warming impacts of methane that typically results from landfill disposal. Incinerators also offset other fuels in energy recovery.

Zero Waste Does Not Eliminate All Waste or Incineration Needs

“Zero waste” makes valuable reductions in single-use consumer plastics but cannot eliminate complex industrial waste, hazardous waste, and residuals that still require treatment like incineration. It is ideal for balancing waste initiatives.

In Summary

Modern incinerators play an integral role in an integrated waste management strategy and contribute TO environmental stewardship despite outdated misconceptions. Through immense volume reduction and generating renewable energy from waste that would otherwise methane-generating landfills, the environmental benefits of technological incineration vastly outweigh any marginal emissions tradeoffs.

Key Takeaways on Incinerator Operation & Design

  • Incinerators are engineered to safely combust waste while recovering energy and dramatically reducing volumes sent to landfills.
  • Strict emissions control technology ensures minimally regulated air releases under standard operations that are protective of human health.
  • Incineration is a part of balanced solid waste management plans also emphasizing reductions, reuse, recycling, composting, and material recovery.
  • Modern incinerators are vastly advanced compared to historic incinerators and bear zero resemblance to outdated burners that lack extensive process and emissions controls.

This concludes our detailed overview of waste incinerators. To learn more, explore additional resources on municipal waste combustion from the EPA.

About the Author Kyrie Mattos

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