Volume reduction of radioactive combustible waste with Oxygen Enriched Incinerator

Performance of a Large-Scale Medical Waste Incinerator in a Referral Hospital

“…The fraction of the weight which is volatile matter is changed into gaseous components in the primary chamber, and transformed into water vapor and carbon dioxide in the secondary chamber. Thus, the gaseous flow through the chimney is a huge flow stream which carries part of the waste referred to in this study as weight reduction (about 80% -98% of the total weight of the waste charged [11] [13] [14]. This fraction necessitates use of efficient secondary chamber and air pollution control devices to make sure toxic components are destroyed and captured before entering the atmosphere, since it contains varying amounts of stack gas concentrations, i.e., SO x , NO x , CO, CO 2 and HCl [8] [11] [14].…”

“…Incineration with excess supply of oxygen leads to volume reduction and weight reduction. Literature shows volume reduction of up to 1/65 for radioactive combustible waste [14]. While other studies focus on volume reduction, this paper quantifies the weight reduction by weighing the total medical waste loaded and ash collected.…”

“…The combustion chamber of an incinerator combines the primary air, fuel, and medical waste [8]- [10] [13] [14]. The fuel is introduced through a burner nozzle and is designed to produce a flame front over the full range of operating conditions.…”

“…Typically, natural gas, fuel or diesel oil is continuously fed to the combustion chamber where total material and pollutant destruction takes place [12]. The MWI requires a continuous augmented fuel supply to maintain complete combustion and destruction of the primary fuel, that is, medical waste feed [10] [12]- [14]. The use of fuel plays a significant cost component in the incinerator operation, which, can be minimized by optimizing burner efficiency and segregation at the source [23] [24].…”

Readiness of Healthcare Facilities to Implement Onsite Healthcare Waste Management Protocols and Incineration Guidelines in Tanzania

“…As an example, a 100-bed district hospital in Africa might produce 180 kg of waste each day with a density of 225 kg/m 3 . Assuming 95% volume reduction, i.e., only 5% of the volume remains after incineration [34], the calculation would be: 72.9 m 3 of ash to be produced over 5 years. The pit dimensions will then be 4.5 × 4 m × 4 m.…”