Oxygen-enhanced combustion in waste incineration: economic and environmental considerations

In this paper the benefits attainable by replacing atmospheric air with oxygen enriched air in waste incineration processes are examined. Technical, economical and environmental aspects are all discussed on the basis of the results of process simulations performed by using the PRO/II-Provision v. 7.01 flowsheeting simulator (SimSci-Esscor). The simulations were carried out modelling an incineration plant equipped with a heat recovery section and a flue gas recirculation into the combustion chamber. The study is parameterized varying the thermal input to the plant (waste flow rate), the temperature set in the combustion chamber, the grade of enrichment in oxygen of the oxidizer and the price of the generated electric power. Results show that higher heat recovery efficiencies, lower fixed costs and decreased emissions of atmospheric pollutants are obtained when enriched air is utilized.