Incineration
Another end-of-life option used globally is incineration. In certain areas, Municipal Waste Combustors (MWC) are used to burn wastes including municipal solid waste (MSW), refuse derived fuel and industrial wastes. Various types of waste combustors exist including, but not limited to, coal fired units, mass burn, mass burn refractory wall, modular waste combustors, refused derived fuel fired spreader stockers, fluidized combustors and rotary kilns.
MWC's exist throughout the United States. In Europe, Germany incinerates the most municipal solid waste with Denmark, Luxembourg and Switzerland in close 2nd, 3rd, and 4th respectively.
INCINERATION TESTING
To help our customers, partners & stakeholders understand the impact of Ingeo on MWC recycling streams, NatureWorks LLC conducted testing at the optimum incineration temperature of 1000°C.
| Comparing Energy Values |
| Material |
BTU/lb |
| Fuel Oil |
20,900 |
| HDPE |
18,700 |
| Rubber & Leather |
12,800 |
| PET |
10,900 |
| Wyoming Coal |
9,600 |
| Textiles |
9,400 |
| INGEO |
8,368 |
| Newspaper |
8,000 |
| Wood |
7,300 |
| Corrugated Boxes (paper) |
7,000 |
| Average MSW |
5,900 |
| Yard Waste |
2,900 |
| Food Waste |
2,900 | |
|
Ingeo's heat content was determined to be 8,368 Btu/lb, which is higher then cellulosic-based materials & suitable for incineration. |
Further analysis showed no volatiles & low residue when burning Ingeo.
| Elemental Analysis |
| Element |
% Avg. |
| Carbon |
50.05 |
| Hydrogren |
5.71 |
| Oxygen |
45.07 |
| Nitrogen |
0.04 |
| Sulfur |
0.30 |
| Phosphorus |
ND (<0.10) |
| Chlorine |
ND (<0.05) | |
|
| Decomposition Products |
| Compounds |
mg/g |
| Carbon Monoxide |
ND (<0.1) |
| Carbon Dioxide |
2020 |
| Water |
>260 |
| Volatiles |
ND (<0.001) |
| Semivolatiles |
ND (<0.01) |
| Residue |
0.01 |
|