Introduction

Incineration is a waste treatment process that involves the combustion of organic substances
contained in waste materials. Incineration and other high-temperature waste treatment systems
are also known as “thermal treatment”. Incineration of waste materials converts the waste
into ash, flue gas, and heat. The ash is mostly formed by the inorganic constituents of the waste,
and may take the form of solid lumps or particulates carried by the flue gas. The flue gases
must be cleaned of gaseous and particulate pollutants before they are dispersed into
the atmosphere. In some cases, the heat generated by incineration can be used to generate
electricity. In several countries, there are still concerns from experts and local communities
about the environmental effect of incinerators.

In some countries, incinerators built by few decades ago often did not include a materials
separation technology in the facility to remove hazardous, bulky or recyclable materials before
combustion. These facilities tended to risk the health of the plant workers and the local
environment due to inadequate levels of gas cleaning and combustion process control. Most of
these facilities did not generate electricity.

Incineration has particularly strong benefits in the treatment of certain waste types in a
containment area such as clinical wastes and certain hazardous wastes where pathogens and
toxins can be destroyed in high temperature. Examples include chemical multi-product plants
with diverse toxic or very toxic wastewater streams, which cannot be routed to a conventional
wastewater treatment plant.

Renewable energy

Incineration is known as one of the waste-to-energy kind of treatment. Waste-to-energy or

1. Burn Pile

The burn piles are the simplest and earliest forms of waste disposal, essentially consisting of a
mound of combustible materials piled on open ground and set on fire. Burn piles can and have
spread uncontrolled fires because of convection process. Burn piles often do not result in full
combustion of waste and therefore produce particulate pollution.

2. Burn Barrel

The burn barrel is a controlled form of private waste incineration, containing the burning
material inside a metal barrel, with a metal grating over the exhaust. The barrel prevents the
spread of burning material in windy conditions, and as the combustibles are reduced they can
only settle down into the barrel. The exhaust grating helps to prevent the spread of burning
embers. The cons are that over time, the very high heat of incineration causes the metal to
oxidize and rust, and eventually the barrel itself is consumed by the heat and must be replaced.
Burn barrel producing no visible smoke, but plastics in household waste can cause private
burning to create a public nuisance, generating acrid odors and fumes that make eyes burn and
water.

3. Moving Grate

The moving grate enables the movement of waste through the combustion chamber to be
optimized to allow a more efficient and complete combustion. A single moving grate boiler
can handle up to 35 metric tons (39 short tons) of waste per hour, and can operate 8,000 hours
per year with only one scheduled stop for inspection and maintenance of about one month's
duration. Moving grate incinerators are sometimes referred to as Municipal Solid Waste
Incinerators (MSWIs). The waste is introduced by a waste crane through the "throat" at one
end of the grate, from where it moves down over the descending grate to the ash pit in the other
end. Here the ash is removed through a water lock. The primary combustion air is supplied
through the grate from below. This air flow also has the purpose of cooling the grate itself.
Cooling is important for the mechanical strength of the grate, and many moving grates are also
water-cooled internally. Secondary combustion air is supplied into the boiler at high speed
through nozzles over the grate. It facilitates complete combustion of the flue gases by
introducing turbulence for better mixing and by ensuring a surplus of oxygen.
 4. Fixed Grate

The older and simpler kind of incinerator that was built with a brick-lined cell with a fixed
metal grate over a lower ash pit, with one opening in the top or side for loading and another
opening in the side for removing incombustible solids called clinkers. Many small incinerators
formerly found in apartment houses have now been replaced by waste compactors.

5. Rotary Kiln

The rotary-kiln incinerator is used by municipalities and by large industrial plants. This design
of incinerator has 2 chambers: a primary chamber and secondary chamber. The primary
chamber in a rotary kiln incinerator consists of an inclined refractory lined cylindrical tube.
The inner refractory lining serves as sacrificial layer to protect the kiln structure. This refractory
layer needs to be replaced from time to time. Movement of the cylinder on its axis facilitates
movement of waste. In the primary chamber, there is conversion of solid fraction to gases,
through volatilization, destructive distillation and partial combustion reactions. The secondary
chamber is necessary to complete gas phase combustion reactions.

6. Fluidized Bed

A strong airflow is forced through a sand bed. The air seeps through the sand until a point is
reached where the sand particles separate to let the air through and mixing and churning occurs,
thus a fluidized bed is created and fuel and waste can now be introduced. The sand with the
pre-treated waste and/or fuel is kept suspended on pumped air currents and takes on a fluid-
like character. The bed is thereby violently mixed and agitated keeping small inert particles
and air in a fluid-like state. This allows all of the mass of waste, fuel and sand to be fully
circulated through the furnace.

7. Specialized Incineration

Furniture factory sawdust incinerators need much attention as these have to handle resin
powder and many flammable substances. Controlled combustion, burn back prevention
systems are essential as dust when suspended resembles the fire catch phenomenon of any
liquid petroleum gas.
Pollution Problem

Incineration has a number of outputs such as the ash and the emission to the atmosphere of flue
gas. Before the flue gas cleaning system, if installed, the flue gases may contain particulate
matter, heavy metals, dioxins, furans, sulfur dioxide, and hydrochloric acid. If plants have
inadequate flue gas cleaning, these outputs may add a significant pollution component to stack
emissions.

Incineration process also produces fly ash and bottom ash just as is the case when coal is
combusted. The total amount of ash produced by municipal solid waste incineration ranges
from 4 to 10% by volume and 15–20% by weight of the original quantity of waste, and the fly
ash amounts to about 10–20% of the total ash. The fly ash, by far, constitutes more of a potential
health hazard than does the bottom ash because the fly ash often contains high concentrations
of heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, copper and zinc as well as small amounts of dioxins
and furans. The bottom ash seldom contains significant levels of heavy metals.

Advantages of Incineration

1. Better Waste Management

The first major advantage of incineration is waste management. The approach certainly makes
waste management easier and more efficient. Incineration can burn up to 90% of the total waste
generated in a chosen area. At times, the waste incinerated is more than 90%. Landfills only
facilitate organic decomposition which doesn’t do much and artificial or nonorganic waste
keeps accumulating.

2. Less Dependence on Landfills

Incineration reduces the need for landfills. Since up to 90% and at times 95% of the landfills
is vacated after the waste in incinerated, it can be an ongoing cycle. The world doesn’t have to
look for new zones for landfills. This is particularly helpful in urban parts of a country where
the waste generated is overwhelming and there is significant scarcity of land.

3. Savings on Transportation of Waste

Incineration plans can be in the proximity of cities or districts so the waste wouldn’t have to be
driven for hundreds of miles. The cost of transport is significant. The money could be spent on
welfare of the people and sustainable development of the city, district or county.
4. Energy as a Byproduct

Incineration plants generate energy from waste. This energy can be used to generate electricity
or heat. It can be used to power the needs of people living nearby.

5. Uncontaminated Groundwater

Incineration doesn’t add any toxic elements to the groundwater, as landfills do. Also, the
chemicals that landfills leaks into the environment including the soil get averted.

Disadvantages of Incineration

1. Not that Affordable

Incineration is not an inexpensive process, far from it in reality. The costs of building the
infrastructure are substantial. The cost of running incineration plants is substantial too. One
also needs trained manpower and dedicated staff to keep the incinerators running. All this adds
to the cost.

2. Bad for the Environment

Incinerators generate smoke. The smoke from the chimneys includes nitrogen oxide,
particulates, heavy metals, acid gases and the carcinogen dioxin.

3. Long Term Challenges

Incineration discourages recycling and waste reduction. That is not a wise approach for any
society. The focus should be on how to reduce waste and to make the most of recycling. Simply
burning everything, we waste and no matter how more we waste will only cause further
environmental damage.