Garbage as fuel: pursuing incineration to counter stigma in postcolonial urban India

This paper explains why local leaders may adopt and promote forms of environmentalism that privilege aesthetic and class-based concerns, displacing environmentalisms of the poor, that promote more socially just and sustainable practices. Presenting a case study from Delhi, India, I ask why centralised and mechanised approaches to garbage services, which included incineration or “waste-to-energy,” were promoted over manual recycling systems despite their unproven efficacy and significant expense. I argue that Indian leaders saw incineration as a mechanism for decontaminating garbage, and by association, de-stigmatising the city’s reputation. Transforming a chaotic cluster of materials – garbage – into a singular object for incineration – fuel – allowed Indian bureaucrats and managers, who tend to be upper-caste men, claim and profit from materials that are recycled by lower-caste and Muslim informal workers. I analyze ethnographic and documentary evidence and find that these motivations became particularly legible during the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, when postcolonial desires for international recognition were made explicit.     

PCDD/F mass balance in the flue gas cleaning units of a MSW incineration plant

With the main purpose of evaluating PCDD/F presence and the corresponding mass balance over the emissions control system, an extensive study was performed on a municipal solid waste full scale incinerator equipped with a best available technology flue gas treatment line. Present paper reports the main results obtained, with particular reference to the PCDD/F concentration profiles and mass balances derived for every process unit of the flue gas control system. Total release evaluated for the plant is also outlined compared with data on PCDD/F content of raw waste and with reference values included in most recent guidelines.     

PCDDs, PCDFs emission control by dry scrubbing system

Presently, in Japan there are no limitations on the emission of PCDDs or PCDFs, but in order to study the feasibility of dry type air pollution control, a pilot plant was constructed in 1988 and the removal efficiencies for PCDDs, acid gas and heavy metals were measured.At the same time PCDDs concentration was compared with that of a previously installed electrostatic precipitator (ESP) plus wet scrubber line.In this paper, the following two items are reported.

1. (1) The difference in the amounts of PCDDs and PCDFs produced due to differences in gas temperature and retention time in ESP and fabric filter (FF).

2. (2) Removal efficiencies of PCDDs and PCDFs of fabric filter.

PCDDs concentration, generally 100–200 ng/Nm³ at the boiler outlet (ESP inlet and/or Quench Reactor (QR) inlet), increased several times at the ESP outlet, but it showed almost no increase at the QR outlet due to a sudden temperature drop. The temperature was 280–310°C, and the gas retention time was 12 sec. during passage through ESP so that it is thought that PCDD was formed under these conditions.On the other hand, a removal efficiency of approx. 90% was obtained with the fabric filter, and the PCDD at the bag outlet was at a sufficiently low level.     

Recycling of air pollution control residues from municipal solid waste incineration into lightweight aggregates

This work focuses on the assessment of technological properties and on the leaching behavior of lightweight aggregates (LWA) produced by incorporating different quantities of air pollution control (APC) residues from municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration. Currently this hazardous waste has been mostly landfilled after stabilization/solidification. The LWA were produced by pelletizing natural clay, APC residues as-received from incineration plant, or after a washing treatment, a small amount of oil and water. The pellets were fired in a laboratory chamber furnace over calcium carbonate. The main technological properties of the LWA were evaluated, mainly concerning morphology, bulk and particle densities, compressive strength, bloating index, water adsorption and porosity. Given that APC residues do not own expansive (bloating) properties, the incorporation into LWA is only possible in moderate quantities, such as 3% as received or 5% after pre-washing treatment.The leaching behavior of heavy metals from sintered LWA using water or acid solutions was investigated, and despite the low acid neutralization capacity of the synthetic aggregates, the released quantities were low over a wide pH range.In conclusion, after a washing pre-treatment and if the percentage of incorporation is low, these residues may be incorporated into LWA. However, the recycling of APC residues from MSW incineration into LWA does not revealed any technical advantage.     

Behavior of TiO2 nanoparticles during incineration of solid paint waste: A lab-scale test

In order to assess the potential impacts posed by products containing engineered nanoparticles, it is essential to generate more data about the release of these particles from products’ life cycle. Although first studies were performed to investigate the release of nanoparticles from use phase, very few data are available on the potential release from recycling or disposal of nano-enhanced products.In this work, we investigated the behavior of TiO₂ nanoparticles from incineration of solid paint waste containing these particles. Solid paint debris with and without TiO₂ nanoparticles were treated in a lab scale incineration plant at 950 °C (combustion temperature) and in oxidizing atmosphere. The obtained ashes were also vitrified with additives and the release of Ti was finally evaluated by leaching test. From our incineration lab-scale experiment, we did not observe a release of TiO₂ nanoparticles into the atmosphere, and Ti was attached to the surface of obtained solid residues (i.e. ashes). The characterization of ashes showed that TiO₂ nanoparticles reacted during the incineration to give calcium titanate. Finally, a very low release of Ti was measured, less 1 mg/kg, during the leaching test of ashes vitrified with glass cullet and feldspathic inert. Our work suggests that TiO₂ nanoparticles added in paints may undergo to physicochemical transformation during the incineration, and that Ti found in ashes may be strongly immobilized in glass matrix. Since this conclusion is based on lab-scale experiment, further research is required to identify which nanoparticles will be emitted to the environment from a real-word-incineration system of household hazardous waste.     

我国城市生活垃圾焚烧处理发展分析

城市生活垃圾焚烧处理的减量化、资源化效果显著,近年来,在我国得到快速发展,逐步成为城市垃圾处理的重要手段。结合当前我国城市生活垃圾焚烧处理现状,分析了城市生活垃圾焚烧处理的环境防护、国家的政策与规划和技术发展方向。     

生活垃圾焚烧发电厂设计新思路探讨

以兴义市生活垃圾焚烧发电厂工程为例,介绍了该项目设计的主要内容;总结了项目设计中节省投资和改善环境的新思路,以助于推进生活垃圾焚烧处理技术的应用。     

多变量故障诊断方法在危废焚烧系统中的应用

分析了当前工业危险废物(含医疗废物)焚烧处理主要工艺过程的特征,以及对电气自控系统稳定性和容错性的控制要求和常用的控制方法。针对系统"故障"的概念和诊断,提出了基于多变量数据处理技术的故障诊断的方法。介绍了系统硬件选型及搭建和算法程序:故障诊断系统的硬件基于SIEMENS S7 414-H系列PLC,利用多变量数据综合的处理技术对故障进行综合判断和定位,对焚烧系统的工艺参数和过程进行精确诊断,并提出了基于专家库的故障处理策略。     

垃圾焚烧飞灰热处理过程中Zn的挥发机理研究

试验在650~1350℃条件下探讨了温度和时间对飞灰中Zn的挥发率的影响,采用XAFs对飞灰及二次飞灰中Zn的赋存形态进行分析,运用吉布斯自由能理论推导了Zn的氯化反应途径,并开展了验证试验.结果表明：温度是影响Zn挥发的主要因素,其挥发趋势随温度先增加而后降低,在1000℃时挥发率达到最高,而时间对其挥发效果影响较小;Zn主要以氯化物形态挥发,从假设反应途径的吉布斯自由能理论计算及验证试验得出,热处理过程中Zn的氯化反应分两步进行,首先飞灰中氯化物与SiO₂反应生成Cl₂,而后与ZnO反应生成ZnCl₂,而小部分Cl₂可能与水蒸气反应形成HCl,再与ZnO反应生成ZnCl₂.