Application of pulse combustion to solid and hazardous-waste incineration

Technical Report · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1991

OSTI ID:5204841

Stewart, C R; Lemieux, P M; Zinn, B T

The paper discusses the application of pulse combustion to solid and hazardous waste incineration. A rotary kiln incinerator simulator was retrofitted with a frequency-tunable pulse combustor to enhance the efficiency of combustion. The pulse combustor excites pulsations in the kiln and increases the completeness of combustion by promoting better mixing within the system. Tests were performed using toluene sorbed onto a ground corn cob sorbent and placed in cardboard containers. The burner was operated in a non-pulse mode as a baseline condition, and then in a pulse mode in which the frequency of the pulse combustor was adjusted to the natural frequency of the combustion chamber, creating resonant pulsations of large magnitude. The test was also performed using polyethylene tube bundles to simulate a solid waste and to investigate a surrogate which produces different puff characteristics. The addition of turbulence in the rotary kiln due to high amplitude acoustic pulsations has a strong tendency to reduce the amount of soot and/or semivolatile and non-volatile hydrocarbons. Mass emissions of soot were consistently reduced in all tests. Carbon monoxide increased during acoustic pulsations in the toluene tests. The paper also discusses unsatisfied oxygen demand and carbon penetration and how pulsations affect them.

• Research Organization: Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC (United States). Air and Energy Engineering Research Lab.
• OSTI ID: 5204841
• Report Number(s): PB-91-223289/XAB
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540120* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
AIR POLLUTION CONTROL
ALKYLATED AROMATICS
AROMATICS
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBON MONOXIDE
CARBON OXIDES
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COMBUSTION
CONTROL
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
HYDROCARBONS
INCINERATORS
KILNS
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC POLYMERS
OXIDATION
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PERFORMANCE TESTING
POLLUTION CONTROL
POLYETHYLENES
POLYMERS
POLYOLEFINS
PULSE COMBUSTION
RETROFITTING
SOLID WASTES
SOOT
TESTING
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
TOLUENE
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES