INCINERATION.

Incineration is

a waste

treatment

the combustion of organic substances

process that
contained

involves
in

waste

materials. During the process of incineration, the waste material that

is treated is converted in to IBM, gases, particles and heat. These
products are later used for generation of electricity. Incineration and
other high-temperature waste treatment systems are described
as "thermal treatment". An incinerator is a unit or facility used
to burn trash and other types of waste. Incineration of waste
materials converts the waste into ash, flue gas, and heat. The
ash is mostly formed by the inorganic constituents of the
waste,

and

may

take

the

form

of

solid

lumps

or particulates carried by the flue gas. The flue gases must be

cleaned of gaseous and particulate pollutants before they are
dispersed into the atmosphere. In some cases, the heat
generated by incineration can be used to generate electric
power.
Incineration with energy recovery is one of several waste-toenergy (WTE)

technologies

as gasification, pyrolysis and anaerobic

incineration
principle,

and

the

gasification

energy

product

such
digestion.

technologies
from

are

incineration

While

similar

in

is high-

temperature heat whereas combustible gas is often the main

energy product from gasification. Incineration and gasification
may also be implemented without energy and materials
recovery.

In some countries, incinerators built just a few decades ago

often

did

not

include

a materials

separation to

hazardous, bulky or recyclable materials

before

remove

combustion.

These facilities tended to risk the health of the plant workers

and the local environment due to inadequate levels of gas
cleaning and combustion process control. Most of these
facilities did not generate electricity.
Incinerators reduce the solid mass of the original waste by 80
85%

and

the

volume

(already

compressed

somewhat

in garbage trucks) by 9596%, depending on composition and

degree of recovery of materials such as metals from the ash for
recycling.

This means that while incineration does not

completely

replace landfilling,

it

significantly

reduces

the

necessary volume for disposal. Garbage trucks often reduce the

volume of waste in a built-in compressor before delivery to the
incinerator. Alternatively, at landfills, the volume of the
uncompressed garbage can be reduced by approximately
70% by using a stationary steel compressor, albeit with a
significant energy cost. In many countries, simpler waste
compaction is a common practice for compaction at landfills.
Incineration has particularly strong benefits for the treatment of
certain waste types in niche areas such as clinical wastes and
certain hazardous wastes where pathogens and toxins can be
destroyed by high temperatures. Examples include chemical
multi-product plants with diverse toxic or very toxic wastewater
streams, which cannot be routed to a conventional wastewater
treatment plant.

Waste combustion is particularly popular in countries such as

Japan where land is a scarce resource. Denmark and Sweden
have been leaders in using the energy generated from
incineration for more than a century, in localised combined
heat

and

power facilities

supporting district

heating schemes. In 2005, waste incineration produced 4.8% of

the electricity consumption and 13.7% of the total domestic
heat consumption in Denmark. A number of other European
countries rely heavily on incineration for handling municipal
waste.
BURNING
Burning waste is not only a nuisance to neighbours, it can
release many harmful chemicals into the air we breathe. People
think they are doing the right thing in reducing the amount of
waste in the environment and also the think they are saving
money but they are both causing long term environmental
pollution and interfering with lives of other living thing cohabiting the area.
Burning waste in your home and garden can damage your
health, as well as that of our children and neighbors. Such
illegal practices lead to the release of toxic dioxins which are
dangerous to peoples heal and our environment.
SLUDGE
Sludge is semi-solid slurry and can be produced as sewage from
waste from waste treatment process or as a settled suspension
obtained from conventional drinking water treatment and
numerous

other

industrial

processes.

The

term

is

also

sometimes used as a generic term for solid separated from

suspension in a liquid. This soupy materials usually contains
significant quantities of interstitial water (between the solids
particles).
Slugde is also said to be accumulated solids produced by a
waste water treatment, plants and solids left from septage, the
liquid pumped from septic tanks. Slugde is a toxic soup of
heavy metals, man-made organics. Sludge is made up of
rust(iron oxide), lime stone and debris left from installation,
when compacted overtime, this can become solid and in some
cases as hard concerte, completely blocking pipes. One of the
most common areas for the sludge to compact and cause
blocking is on the cold fed where it enters the system.
Treatment of Sludge:
Options for sludge treatment include stabilization thickening,
dewatering, drying and incineration. The latter is most costly,
because fuelis needed and air pollution control requires
extensive treatement of the combustion of gases. Also except
when it is to be injected or other wise worked into the soil,
sewage sludge should be subjected to biological chemical or
thermal treatment.
Possible Uses of Sludge.
Sludge when left for a long period of time can become solids
and can be used for feasibility studies.
After treatment and dependent upon the quality of sludge
produced for example with regards to heavy metal, content,
sewage sludge is most commonly either disposed of in

landfills, dumped in the ocean or applied to land the latter

option is a form of excreta reuse as sewage sludge has
fertilizing properties.
One of the main concerns in the treated sludge is the
concentrated metals content (cadmium, copper, arsenic)
some of which are also critical plant micro-nutrients, certain
metals are regulated while others are not.
Use of sewage has shown an increase in level of soil
available phosphorus and salinity.

NAME: ONWUZULIKE IJEOMA ANGELA

DEPARTMENT: GEOLOGY.
MAT NO: LSC1504620 (TRANSFER)
COURSE CODE: CHM 214
TOPIC: INCENERATION
BURNING AND
SLUDGE.