Environmental scienceLesson 5 of 5 in the course Waste management

Waste Incineration: Plant Designs, Emissions, Energy, and Policy

5 flashcards · 4 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 3 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

This lesson introduces incineration as a method of treating waste through combustion. It explains what the process produces, how it fits among waste-management technologies, and why its benefits and limitations depend on context.

Incineration is the combustion of substances contained in waste. It is one form of thermal treatment, a term that also applies to other high-temperature waste-treatment systems. Industrial incineration plants are often called waste-to-energy facilities, especially when they recover useful energy.

All flashcards

Moving-grate incinerator
A plant design in which a moving grate carries waste through the combustion chamber.
Fixed-grate incinerator
A simpler design with a stationary grate and a separate ash pit.
Rotary-kiln incinerator
A design with an inclined, rotating primary chamber and a secondary combustion chamber.
Fluidized-bed incinerator
A design that uses airflow to suspend and mix waste with particles such as sand.
De novo synthesis
The formation of dioxins as exhaust gases cool after combustion.

Quiz questions

  1. In a moving-grate incinerator, what are two roles of primary air entering from below the grate?Answer: It supports combustion and helps cool the grate.
  2. How does selective catalytic reduction reduce nitrogen oxides in incinerator exhaust?Answer: Ammonia reacts in a catalytic converter to reduce nitrogen oxides.
  3. What additional waste-management requirement can result from using wet scrubbers?Answer: The wastewater they produce must be treated.
  4. Which waste stream is particularly suited to treatment in a fluidized-bed incinerator?Answer: Sewage sludge.

Based on the Wikipedia article Incineration, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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