Design of a Novel α-shaped Flue Gas Route Flame Incinerator for the Treatment of Urban Waste Materials

Abstract

Abstract Incineration is an effective method to treat urban waste materials like sewage sludge and solid waste. A conventional urban waste flame incinerator design is based on L-shaped flue gas route. A common issue with these incinerators is incomplete combustion of the waste material, leading to excessive air pollution. In the present study, a novel flame incinerator design has been developed, comprising of α-shaped flue gas route. Based on momentum flux method, and using momentum vector synthesis theory, theoretical design of the α-shaped flue gas route flame incinerator has been developed in this study. Design modifications have been carried out on a conventional flame incinerator, in-line with the theoretical design developed, to obtain α-shaped flue gas route for enhanced combustion of urban waste materials. The novel α-shaped flue gas route flame incinerator has been cold-tested using Computational Fluid Dynamics in order to ascertain that the flue gas is undergoing α-shaped route. Hot-tests on a full-scale 750 tonnes/day α-shaped flue gas route flame incinerator have been carried out to validate the cold-test results and record the thermal characteristics of the incinerator. The results obtained clearly show superior combustion performance of novel α-shaped flue gas route flame incinerator compared to conventional flame incinerators.