Flue-gas cleaning of municipal waste combustion gases: performance and emissions

This paper discusses available control technologies in the U.S., Japan, and Western Europe and their expected effectiveness in controlling the various pollutants emitted during the combustion of municipal waste. Increasing concern over the potential hazards of landfills for disposing of water and the diminishing sites available for new landfills have led to incineration for destroying hazardous waste and reducing the volume of other wastes. While wastes-to-energy conversion can be a benefit, incineration produces air pollutant emissions that can be minimized by in-furnace and post-combustion control technologies. As potential regulation of both hazardous air-pollutants and acid rain precursors in the future may force closing of operating incinerators or their costly retrofitting with new or improved controls, planning for new or improved incinerators should consider the environmental controls available to minimize costs and facilitate the required actions if stricter regulations are imposed.