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Incineration
Incineration is a waste treatment which has been around for many years. It is a simple process whereby waste is loaded into a vessel before being burnt at very high temperatures until the waste has been turned into ash.
This method of waste processing can be used for most types of waste stream including food waste and domestic waste. It is a popular method of choice throughout Europe but the UK remains reserved in its view of incineration. In many cases new incinerator developments come under heavy scrutiny during their planning stages for a number of reasons.
The process will emit large quantities of gases which arise during the burning process. Although incineration plants are required to have substantial amounts of abetment equipment this equipment does not completely remove the gaseous emissions which go directly into the atmosphere.
Many of the modern incineration plants utilise the heat that they produce to generate energy in the form of steam of electricity. Called EfW (Energy from Waste) incinerators these plants offer an alternative method of processing to land fill, composting and anaerobic digestion.
Incineration does have a place in the waste processing sector but it is most effective in specific niche markets such as clinical wastes and certain hazardous wastes. In these instances incineration is the only real option to ensure that diseases are destroyed.
Although more incinerators are being constructed in the UK many of them are built to handle domestic waste, not food waste. Food waste is not an ideal fuel for incineration due to the high moisture content of it. As most food is over 50% moisture this poses problems as this moisture must be evaporated prior to the waste actually burning, making it an inefficient process.
There are still concerns over the health effects which could occur through using incineration as a means of disposing of waste due to the potential for it to emit harmful dioxins and furans into the atmosphere. Modern gas cleaning equipment does reduce these emissions, but it cannot totally eradicate it from the process. There is also a volume of ash by product which must be disposed of correctly as it may potentially contain dangerous particulates.