USE OF A CYCLONE COMBUSTOR TO CONVERT MUNICIPAL INCINERATOR FLY ASH TO INERT SLAG

AN ADVANCED AIR COOLED, CYCLONE COAL COMBUSTOR WILL BE USED TO DEMONSTRATE ITS TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY FOR THE EFFICIENT CONVERSION OF FLY ASH FROM MUNICIPAL INCINERATORS TO SLAG. TWO SETS OF SHORT DURATION PARAMETRIC TESTS WILL BE PERFORMED IN WHICH FLY ASH WILL BE INJECTED IN A COMMERCIAL SCALE COMBUSTOR INSTALLED ON A 17,500 LB/HR PACKAGE BOILER, LOCATED IN WILLIAMSPORT, PENNSYLVANIA. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE TEST WILL BE TO DEMONSTRATE THAT THE FLY ASH CAN BE CONVERTED TO SLAG WITH A MINIMUM OF FUEL HEAT INPUT AND WITH ESSENTIALLY NO LOSS OF METAL VAPORS IN THE STACK EXHAUST GASES. THE OUTPUT OF THE PHASE I EFFORT WILL BE THE EXPERIMENTAL DEMONSTRATION OF THE FEASIBILITY OF THE ASH TO SLAG CONVERSION, AS WELL AS AN INITIAL CONCEPTUAL DESIGN OF A COMBUSTOR SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FOR THE ASH TO SLAG CONVERSION PROCESS. ALSO, DATA ON THE ECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS OF THIS PROCESS VERSUS OTHER ASH TO SLAG CONVERSION APPROACHES WILL BE GENERATED. THIS WILL BE FOLLOWED BY MORE EXTENSIVE PARAMETRIC AND LONG DURATION TESTS IN PHASE II.