Waste incineration

The incineration of waste primarily produces large quantities of pollutants such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, mercury and particulate matter. Based on existing data—including population figures and per capita waste generation—along with official waste management statistics, researchers have calculated that as much as 41 per cent of the 2 billion metric tonnes of waste generated globally each year is incinerated.

Furthermore, the malodours generated at refuse collection points refer to all gaseous substances that irritate the olfactory organs, cause discomfort to people and impair the living environment. According to the emission standards for malodorous pollutants, the control indicators for such pollutants include odour (OU value), NH₃, H₂S, TVOC, methyl mercaptan, triethylamine, methyl ether, dimethyl sulphide, carbon disulphide and phenethyl acetate; all ten of these substances pose a very serious risk to human health.

Furthermore, during the incineration process at waste-to-energy plants, dioxins, furans and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted into the air can cause significant harm to our health and the environment when present at specific concentrations. Dioxin emissions depend on criteria that are not yet fully established but are related to incineration conditions, such as the chemical composition or physical form of the waste.

The company’s ProC-TOF online mass spectrometer enables incinerator operators and regulatory bodies to quantify relevant compounds in real time, without the need for complex measurement set-ups, with detection limits as low as 10 ppb. Flue gas can be analysed directly, rather than from pre-collected samples, thereby allowing the measurement of emissions from specific materials throughout the entire combustion process.

The ProC-TOF online mass spectrometer is used in waste incineration plants to monitor the emission of hazardous compounds, thereby ensuring safety and optimising processes.

Time-dependent curves of selected products during the pyrolysis/combustion of waste plastics