Combustion of solid waste in a pulse incinerator

This study investigated the effects of pulsations on the combustion of simulated solid waste at high Reynolds numbers in an incinerator fed with cold or preheated combustion air. Corrugated cardboard and charcoal were chosen as waste surrogates. Combustion times and emissions of CO₂, CO and NO_x were measured while the samples were burned under different experimental conditions. Pulsations significantly reduced flaming combustion times in tests with and without preheated. Most of this enhancement resulted from increased heat transfer rate due to a closer attachment of the gas flame to the solid sample. Pulsations also reduced smoldering combustion time. This was caused by faster transport of oxygen to and combustion products from the sample surface. Furthermore, the smoldering combustion rate increased with increasing Sound Pressure Levels. While this effect was the strongest in laminar flows, pulsations doubled combustion rates even in a highly turbulent flow where Re = 47,000. Higher combustion rates at elevated Reynolds numbers in steady tests were caused by larger turbulent velocity fluctuations. Combustion rates were further enhanced by the addition of acoustic velocity fluctuations, which dominated the process if they were much larger than the turbulent velocity fluctuations. Below this limit, acoustic modes with velocities normal to the main flow enhanced the combustion process more significantly than those parallel to the flow. Most of this enhancement by pulsations resulted from increased species transport due to faster removal of ash layers on the burning surface by acoustic shear. Acoustic streaming was not responsible for the observed, enhanced combustion rates.; Instantaneous pollutant emissions were much higher with pulsations than without. However, pulsations did not affect total amount of carbon converted into gaseous products from the sample but favored more complete combustion, i.e., less total CO emission. This was caused by a larger fraction of the sample being burned by gas flame with pulsations. Total NO_x emissions, on the other hand, were not affected by pulsations during smoldering but increased during flaming combustion. The later was caused by higher thermal NO _x emission with pulsations.