Computational simulation of incineration of chemically and biologically contaminated wastes

Abstract

This paper describes the modeling approach and example results for a newly introduced computational simulation tool to evaluate waste destruction in thermal incineration systems. The Configured Fireside Simulator (CFS) is a software simulator, originally developed for the Department of Defense to evaluate operations of the chemical demilitarization incinerators processing the chemical warfare agent stockpile of the US. The software was later adapted for use by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide for the ability to run "what if" scenarios of waste streams contaminated with chemical/biological (CB) threat agents in four specific incinerators, including the EPA's pilot-scale Rotary Kiln Incinerator Simulator (RKIS) facility, as well as three commercial incinerators based on design criteria for actual operating facilities. These commercial incinerators include a Medical/Pathological Waste Incinerator, a Hazardous Waste Burning Rotary Kiln, and a Waste-to-Energy Stoker-type combustor. The CFS uses three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics coupled with detailed chemical kinetic data for destruction of chemical warfare agents, coupled with kinetic data for biological agent destruction derived from bench-and pilot-scale experiments to predict the way agentcontaining materials will behave under full-scale combustion conditions in several different incinerator types. The objective of this paper is to describe the CFS software, how it works, and potential applications of this software to real-world situations. This software could be a valuable tool for researchers, regulators, and industry to evaluate potential operating conditions to help guide testing activities and develop operational scenarios for difficult-to-manage waste streams. Although this software has been under development for several years, this paper represents the software's first introduction to the scientific community in the peer-reviewed literature.

Enhancing the Performance of a Hazardous Waste Incineration Facility through the Usage of a Dedicated Application

“…Optimization of the installation for the thermal treatment of hazardous waste may concern various aspects of its operation. These may include study on the movement of the feed material in a rotary kiln [19][20][21][22], development of a numerical model for the thermal transformation of waste [8,[23][24][25] or environmental assessment of the impact of industrial waste incineration in a rotary kiln [11]. An example of considerations devoted to modeling the thermal transformation of contaminated waste can be found in the study of Lemieux et al [25].…”

Theory-Based Mechanism for Fluoromethane Combustion I: Thermochemistry and Abstraction Reactions

“…14−16 A typical approach would be to inject a concentrated solution into a natural-gas-fired furnace. 17,18 The flame front activates the internal C−C bonds, thereby resulting in a smaller fluorohydrocarbons that interact with the methane combustion intermediates. Understanding these processes has led to recent interest in using computational chemistry to describe the reaction pathways for thermal destruction of PFAS.…”

“…This recalcitrant nature of PFAS has earned them the dubious distinction of being named “forever chemicals” in popular media. The most well-established approach to PFAS destruction is incineration. − A typical approach would be to inject a concentrated solution into a natural-gas-fired furnace. , The flame front activates the internal C–C bonds, thereby resulting in a smaller fluorohydrocarbons that interact with the methane combustion intermediates. Understanding these processes has led to recent interest in using computational chemistry to describe the reaction pathways for thermal destruction of PFAS. , …”

Multiple chemical warfare agent simulant decontamination by self-driven microplasma

“…Therefore, the emergency decontamination technology of CWAs has always been an important part of the public safety technology system [2]. Traditional CWA decontamination technologies, such as high-temperature incineration [3,4], hydrolysis [5,6] and chemical decontaminants [7,8], suffer from the problems of poor decontamination efficiency, complex operation procedures and serious environmental pollution. Therefore, it is necessary to explore a safe, efficient and green technology for CWA decontamination.…”