Oxygen-enriched coincineration of MSW and sewage sludge: Final report.

摘要

Federal regulations banning ocean dumping of sewage sludge coupled with stricter regulations on the disposal of sewage sludge in landfills have forced municipalities, especially those in the northeast United States, to consider alternate methods for disposal of this solid waste. Coincineration of municipal solid waste (MSW) and sludge has proven to be economically attractive for both Europe and Japan, but has not yet proven to be a viable sludge disposal technology in the United States because of a history of operational problems in existing facilities. The most prevalent problem in coincinerating MSW and a dewatered sewage sludge (15 to 25% solids) is incomplete sludge combustion. Incomplete sludge combustion is primarily a function of sludge particle size, occurring when the surface of the sludge particle dries and hardens, while the inner mass is unaffected. This phenomenon is commonly referred to in the industry as the (open quotes)hamburger effect.(close quotes) In an effort to promote technology development in this area, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. teamed with the US Department of Energy (DOE) through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to evaluate a new process being developed for the disposal of a dewatered sewage sludge, (open quotes)Oxygen-Enriched Coincineration of MSW and Sewage Sludge.(close quotes) This report provides a comprehensive summary of the pilot demonstration test program for oxygen-enriched coincineration of MSW and sewage sludge. This report describes the pilot test facility, instrumentation, and methods of data collection and data analyses; describes how the tests were executed; and discusses the test results. Recommendations for the future development of this technology in the current marketplace are also provided.