Science Inventory

Computational simulation of incineration of chemically and biologically contaminated wastes

Citation:

Lemieux, P., T. Boe, A. Tschursin, M. Denison, K. Davis, AND D. Swenson. Computational simulation of incineration of chemically and biologically contaminated wastes. JOURNAL OF THE AIR & WASTE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION. Air & Waste Management Association, Pittsburgh, PA, 71(4):462-476, (2021). https://doi.org/10.1080/10962247.2020.1853627

Impact/Purpose:

Describes a computational model for incinerators processing various waste materials contaminated with trace levels of chemical or biological agents.

Description:

For chemical and biological (CB) threat agents, thermal incineration is a likely treatment technology that would be used either on-site or off-site to destroy residual agents and to reduce the volume of the waste streams. Past experiments and operational performance have demonstrated that incineration is an effective technology for destroying chemical and biological agents; however, the substrates on which these agents will be bound have a profound impact on the behavior of the waste streams in the incinerators. Full-scale testing may not be able to encompass the variety of materials and agents that might be generated in a real-world CB incident, and logistical and public perception issues may make it very difficult or impossible to do testing at a specific incineration facility with the specific types of materials that would be containing these trace level contaminants. The Configured Fireside Simulator (CFS) is based on a software simulator that was originally developed for the Department of Defense to evaluate operations of the chemical demilitarization incinerators processing the US’s chemical warfare agent stockpile. It was later adapted to provide for the ability to run “what if” scenarios of waste streams contaminated with CB agents in four specific incinerators; this included the EPA’s pilot-scale Rotary Kiln Incinerator Simulator (RKIS) facility, as well as 3 commercial incinerators based on design criteria for actual operating facilities, including a Medical/Pathological Waste Incinerator, a Hazardous Waste Burning Rotary Kiln, and a Waste-to-Energy Stoker type combustor. CFS uses detailed chemical kinetic data for destruction of chemical warfare agents, coupled with biological agent destruction kinetic data derived from bench- and pilot-scale experiments.