A More Effective Incinerator for Hazardous Waste

焚化炉的设计涉及到两个重要目标之间的冲突：完全摧毁输入焚化炉的有毒有机物质，避免重金属的排放，重金属也会存在于废物中。如果焚化炉温度过高，有机物将被完全破坏，但重金属可以蒸发，随后凝结形成亚微米颗粒，排放到大气中。降低焚化炉的温度可以解决这个问题，但也可能导致有毒有机物的不完全破坏。该研究计划将展示一种解决这一难题的方法，这一难题是由氧化阈值造成的，这一氧化阈值是由于有毒有机物最后残留的痕迹氧化的速度比人们在较高浓度下测量的氧化速率要慢得多。因此，为了恢复高氧化率，在焚烧过程的最后阶段注入少量清洁燃料，如天然气。这项研究将证明，微量有毒有机物的氧化比以前认为的要困难得多，但一种简单廉价的方法可以克服这一困难。这将使焚化炉更容易运行，减少对当地环境的影响，从而降低成本，更容易选址。

The design of incinerators involves a conflict between two important goals: completely destroying the toxic organic materials which are fed to the incinerator and avoiding the emission of heavy metals which will also be present in the waste material. If the incinerator temperature is excessive, the organics will be completely destroyed but heavy metals can be vaporized, subsequently condensing to form submicron particulates which are discharged to the atmosphere. Decreasing the incinerator temperature can solve this problem but can also cause less than complete destruction of the toxic organics. The research program will demonstrate a solution to this dilemma which is created by a threshold for oxidation resulting from the fact that the last remaining traces of the toxic organics oxidize much more slowly than one would expect from their measured oxidation rates at higher concentrations. Accordingly, to restore a high oxidation rate, small amounts of a clean fuel such as natural gas are injected during the final stages of the incineration process. The research will demonstrate that the oxidation of toxic organics at trace levels is more difficult than previously believed but that a simple inexpensive means can overcome this difficulty. This will make incinerations both easier to run and reduce their local environmental impact, translating into lower costs and easier siting.