Progress in Municipal Incineration Through Process Engineering

Process engineering is applied to the design of a new I concept of a municipal incinerator. Each of seven incin· eration process areas are analyzed separately and the equivalent process in the chemical and metallurgical industries examined for proven design features applicable to incineration. Examples of integration of designs for process areas are given. Advantages of this new inciner­ ator concept include 100ver cosl, less construction time and adaption to prefabrication and mass production. Introduction and Need The sanitary disposal of municipal refuse becomes more important to the health and welfare of a community as the population density increases. For example, in a city with 12,000 people per square mile, a 6-foot person could expect to he buried in municipal refuse dUrillg his lifetime. In an area of greater population density, such as Ne)\' York City, less theoretical time would be re­ quired for refuse to bury a person [11. For centuries past, man has disposed of his refuse in a dump which usually burned to pollute the sun'olluding atmosphere. To a large extent, sanitary landfill has helped to avoid the health hazards of dump disposal, but the availability of satisfactory land disposal sites, especially in metropolitan areas, is decreasing rapidly. Modern incineration of refuse can eliminate the health hazards of disease and air pollution while at the same ROBERT E. ZINN Arthur D. little, Inc.