A CO-FIRED COAL/SLUDGE INCINERATOR

CURRENT WASTE SLUDGE INCINERATORS HAVE HIGH CAPITAL AND OPERATING COSTS; THEY ALSO PRODUCE SIGNIFICANT GASEOUS AND SOLID POLLUTANTS. THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR CO-FIRING WITH COAL ARE LIMITED BY CONVENTIONAL DESIGNS. THE PROBLEMS CAN BE RELATED TO THE POOR MATCHING OF SLUDGE AND COAL CHARACTERISTICS WITH THE PROCESSING EQUIPMENT. THE INNOVATIVE CO-FIRED COAL/SLUDGE INCINERATOR (CCSI) CONCEPT REDUCES REACTOR SIZE, INCREASES EFFICIENCY, AND REDUCES POLLUTANT FORMATION BY CAREFULLY MATCHING PROCESSING CONDITIONS TO SLUDGE CHARACTERISTICS. THIS MINIMIZES CAPITAL AND OPERATING COSTS, REDUCES THE BURDEN ON DOWNSTREAM PARTICULATE COLLECTION DEVICES, AND ELIMINATES THE NEED FOR ANY ADD-ON CONTROL OF SULFUR DIOXIDE AND NITROGEN OXIDES (NOX). PHASE I ASSESSES, USING SMALL SCALE TESTS AND ANALYSES, THE FEASIBILITY OF THE CCSI CONCEPT TO PROCESS SLUDGE OPTIMALLY AND CLEANLY AT LOWER COST. MODELS ARE BEING USED TO IDENTIFY OPTIMAL DESIGN AND OPERATING PARAMETER FOR A FULL SCALE APPLICATION OF INTEREST. SMALL SCALE INCINERATOR SIMULATION TESTS ARE BEING RUN TO PROVE SLUDGE INCINERATING EFFECTIVENESS USING COAL, WITH NOX AND HYDROCARBON EMISSION BENEFITS. THE MODEL AND TEST PERFORMANCE RESULTS WILL BE COMBINED WITH PRELIMINARY ECONOMIC ANALYSES TO SHOW THAT THE CONCEPT HAS MANY ADVANTAGES OVER CONVENTIONAL SLUDGE CO-FIRING INCINERATION TECHNIQUES.