1. Incinerators

2. D18
Explain the short- and long-term impacts of landfills and incineration of waste materials on the quality of the environment.

3. Learning Targets I can explain how an incinerator works.
I can explain the short-term environmental effects of an incinerator.
I can explain the long-term environmental effects of an incinerator.

4. What is an incinerator?
A building designed to burn solid waste at extremely high temperatures (as high as 2000° C)
Accounts for 14% of US waste disposal
The burning of refuse drastically reduces the volume of the solid waste.

6. Incinerator Process

8. How does an incinerator make energy?
The heat generated by the process is captured to create steam to turn turbines to produce electricity.

9. How a Waste-to-energy plant works
Video Clip

10. How Much MSW can be Incinerated?
Virtually all of the contents of the municipal solid waste stream are combustible at the high temperature
Examples of combustible material include paper, food, yard waste, plastic, rubber, and wood.
Non-combustible materials in the waste stream include glass, metals, ceramics, and clay.

11. Problems with Incinerators
Makes landfills more toxic
Use the ash as the daily cover layer
Air Pollution
Lack of monitoring
Toxic metals (mercury, arsenic, lead, cadmium, etc.)
Acid Gases (Hydrogen Fluoride, Hydrochloric Acid, Sulfuric Acid)
Particulate matter – health effects
Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), Sulfur Oxides (SOx)

12. Problems with Incinerators
Destroys materials instead of recycling
Global warming contribution worse than zero waste solutions
Makes the problem "invisible" rather than making it very visible
Very costly to build (up to $200 million)

13. Benefits of Incinerators
Ash has virtually no groundwater contamination risk if landfill is properly designed
Smaller amount of land needed
Does not have to be capped off
They can be used continuously
Dumping in landfills is becoming expensive which makes incinerators more cost-effective
Possible solution to the nation’s energy needs

14. Benefits of Incinerators
Reduces the amount of waste that must be landfilled
Allows us to use the non-recyclable trash

15. Learning Target Checkpoint
How does an incinerator work?
What are the short-term environmental effects of an incinerator?
What are the long-term environmental effects of an incinerator?