Waste IncineratorsSandi Dewberry

Renewable Resources

• Can be replenished fairly rapidly through natural processes as long as it is not used up faster than it is replaced

• Forests, grasslands, wild animals, fresh water, fresh air, and fertile soil

Nonrenewable Resources• Exist in a fixed quantity or stock in the earth’s crust• On a time scale of millions to billions of years, geological processes

can renew such resources– Humans don’t have that kind of time

• Depleted much faster than they are formed as a result of exponential growth in our resource use

Incineration - What is it?

• A process in which many types of hazardous wastes are heated to high temperatures (up to 2,000⁰C/3,600 ⁰F) to break them down and convert them to less harmful chemicals or harmless chemicals such as carbon dioxide and water

Incineration – How does it work?

How does it work? (Cont.)

Incineration - Who does it?

• Japan and a few European countries incinerate most of their municipal solid waste.

Advantages vs. DisadvantagesAdvantages

• Reduces trash volume• Less need for landfills• Low water pollution• Concentrates hazardous

substances into ash for burial or use as landfill cover

• Sale of energy reduces cost• Modern controls reduce air

pollution• Some facilities recover and

sell metals

Disadvantages• Expensive to build• Costs more than short-

distance hauling to landfills• Difficult to site because of

citizen opposition• Some air pollution• Older or poorly managed

facilities can release large amounts of air pollution

• Output approach that encourages waste production

• Can compete with recycling for burnable materials such as newspaper

More Disadvantages?

• Produces highly toxic ash– Must be safely and permanently stored in a landfill

especially designed for hazardous waste

Perfect Incineration

• Ideally, incinerators do not cause problems to the health of the plant workers, environment, or the public.

Incineration-Related Vocabulary

• Biomass – a diverse source of energy that consists of organic plant materials (such as wood and agricultural waste) and animal wastes that can be burned directly as a solid fuel or converted into gaseous or liquid biofuels

5 Question Quiz

• What temperature might incinerators reach?• Give an example of a country that also uses

incineration. • Name one benefit of incinerators.• Name one drawback of incinerators.• Ideally doesn’t cause problems to the health

of ______, _______, or _______.

Incinerator in Huntsville

• http://www.swdahsv.org/wtoe.html