Thermal waste treatment refers to the processes that use heat to treat waste materials. Following are some of the most commonly used thermal waste treatment techniques:
Incineration is one of the most common waste treatments. This approach involves the combustion of waste material in the presence of oxygen. The combustion process converts wastes into ash, flue, gas, water vapor, and carbon dioxide. This thermal treatment method is commonly used as a means of recovering energy for electricity or heating. This approach has several advantages. It quickly reduces waste volume, lessens transportation costs and decreases harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
Gasification and Pyrolysis are two similar methods, both of which decompose organic waste materials by exposing waste to low amounts of oxygen and very high temperature. Pyrolysis uses absolutely no oxygen while gasification allows a very low amount of oxygen in the process. Gasification is more advantageous as it allows the burning process recover energy without causing air pollution.
Open Burning is a legacy thermal waste treatment that is environmentally harmful. The incinerators used in such process have no pollution control devices. They release substances such as hexachlorobenzene, dioxins, carbon monoxide, particulate matter, volatile organic compounds, polycyclic aromatic compounds, and ash. Unfortunately, this method is still practiced by many local authorities internationally, as it offers an inexpensive solution to solid waste.
