The Use of Electrostatic Precipitators on Municipal Incinerators

Despite this country’s scientific advances, most communities in the United States are still disposing of solid wastes the way they did 50 years ago. The problem is advancing faster than the solution. Less than half the cities in this country with populations over 2500 dispose of their wastes by an approved sanitary and nuisance-free method. Do you realize that every 60 seconds people in the United States drop 251 tons of trash into their garbage cans. At the end of the day, 362,000 tons have accumulated. This means each of the 190 million people in the US disposes of 43½ lb of rubbish daily. By the year 2000 population is expected to double, while the per capita rate of increase in refuse production rises about 2% annually.

As the population booms and spreads to the suburbs, and suburbs expand into further suburbs, we will rapidly use up the land once used for waste disposal. Thus, sanitary landfill sites will disappear because by the year 2000 three-fourths of our population will live in urban areas.

The answer to this enormous problem faced by large and small communities is central incineration. Only this system can provide a maximum reduction in the volume of refuse. It is for this reason that communities are turning to incineration as the best solution. However, a growing public awareness plus changing municipal, state, and federal laws necessitate the need for a modern incineration plant that incorporates the most advanced and proved method of air pollution control. Where efficiencies of 60 to 80% were acceptable in the past, 90 to 95% are sought at present, and soon 96 to 99% will be required.

This paper deals with the effective control of particulate emissions from municipal incinerator exhaust gases.