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Show that it has only begun to identify the vast number of sites that will require remedial action under CERCLA (Superfund). These regulatory changes and landfill capacity limitations have brought renewed interest in thermal destruction (burning) as a convenient, cost effective alternative to land disposal. Thermal destruction will allow the energy content of the waste stream to be used and recovered and can eliminate toxic substances while significantly reducing the volume of material that must be stored. Although thermal destruction has proven to be effective, the existing technology suffers from a number of limitations that must be overcome if the incinerator of the future is to meet the demands placed on it by landfill bans and be more widely accepted by the public. This paper is concerned with how natural gas might be used to improve the performance of thermal destruction devices for both industrial and municipal wastes. The Gas Research Institute (GRI) has initiated a research program to investigate gas fired technologies. In the following sections will be described how the ongoing GRI program is addressing the research . issues associated with utilizing natural gas to improve the overall performance of thermal destruction systems. 2.0 Natural Gas Utilization in Thermal Destruction Devices The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has conducted extensive field tests on thermal destruction devices burning a wide variety of waste streams including hazardous and municipal wastes and sewer sludge. These field tests have conclusively demonstrated that, for waste streams now being burned, the systems are capable of destroying organics in the waste without releasing particulate matter or hydrochloric acid (Hel), see e.g., Ref. 1-5. However, there are several limitations on incineration systems that must be overcome if the incinerator of the future will meet the demands placed on it by landfill bans and the remediation of old landfill sites. Natural gas cofiring can be an integral part of the incinerator of the future by solving many of the limitations and extending the range of applicability of thermal destruction. 2 / |
