Modeling on-grate MSW incineration with experimental validation in a batch incinerator

This Article presents a 2-D steady-state model developed for simulating on-grate municipal solid waste incineration, termed GARBED-ss. Gas-solid reactions, gas flow through the porous waste particle bed, conductive, convective, and radiative heat transfer, drying and pyrolysis of the feed, the emission of volatile species, combustion of the pyrolysis gases, the formation and oxidation of char and its gasification by water vapor and carbon dioxide, and the consequent reduction of the bed volume are described in the bed model. The kinetics of the pyrolysis of cellulosic and noncellulosic materials were experimentally derived from experimental measurements. The simulation results provide a deep insight into the various phenomena involved in incineration, for example, the complete consumption of oxygen in a large zone of the bed and a consequent char-gasification zone. The model was successfully validated against experimental measurements in a laboratory batch reactor, using an adapted sister version in a transient regime. © 2010 American Chemical Society

Prédiction de l'évolution granulométrique et morphologique d'une poudre dans un four tournant

National audienceThe dry conversion process for making UO2 nuclear fuel pellets consists of two steps: hydrolysis of UF6 to UO2F2, followed by reducing pyrohydrolysis to UO2 in a rotary kiln. The physical characteristics (morphology, particle size distribution) of the powder obtained at the kiln end determine the final properties (sinterability, flow-ability, green strength). We developed a mathematical model describing the morphological evolution of the powder in the rotary kiln, which enables us to predict morphological characteristics of UO2 powder as functions of the processing conditions. Firstly, the powder flow in the kiln was modelled, including the exchanges between a dense phase (powder bed) and an airborne phase (particles showering down). An original feature of this model is to consider the effect of lifters for calculating the dynamic variables. Secondly, the phenomena responsible for the changes in morphology and grain size were identified and modelled. A population of fractal agglomerates was considered, whose number and size change due to Brownian and sedimentation agglomeration, sintering, breaking up, and chemical reactions. The model is based on population balances and the particle size distribution is divided into sections. Results of both dynamic and morphological calculations are compared to available measurements. Lastly, the influence of the different mechanisms of morphological evolution on the final size distribution is analysed

Thermodynamic study of heavy metals behavior during municipal waste incineration

The incineration of municipal solid waste (MSW) contributes significantly to the presence of heavy metals in urban area aerosols. It is thus important to ascertain the quantities and chemical forms of the heavy metals (HM) that are emitted from the incineration plant stacks. The behaviour of HM, which depends strongly on the thermal and chemical environments, was investigated herein with a modelling approach, consisting of several parts. First, a refuse bed combustion model was developed for simulating on-grate MSW incineration. It describes most of the physico-chemical and thermal phenomena occurring during waste combustion. Second, results from the bed model were taken as boundary conditions to perform 3D simulations of the post-combustion zone and of the boiler. The case studied was of the Strasbourg incineration plant. Finally, the local thermal conditions and the local elementary compositions of gas and solid phases obtained from these simulations were used to carry out thermodynamic calculations of the speciation of HM at each point in the incinerator. The results for four metals (Cd, Zn, Pb, Cr) are presented, discussed and compared to available data. Predicted species are in agreement with observations for volatile metals, except lead, whose volatilization seems overestimated

Contribution à la modélisation des réactions et des réacteurs gaz-solide

Gas-solid reactions control a great number of major industrial processes involving matter transformation. This dissertation aims at showing that mathematical modelling is a useful tool for both understanding phenomena and optimising processes. First, the physical processes associated with a gas-solid reaction are presented in detail for a single particle, together with the corresponding available kinetic grain models. A second part is devoted to the modelling of multiparticle reactors. Different approaches, notably for coupling grain models and reactor models, are illustrated through various case studies: coal pyrolysis in a rotary kiln, production of uranium tetrafluoride in a moving bed furnace, on-grate incineration of municipal solid wastes, thermogravimetric apparatus, nuclear fuel making, steelmaking electric arc furnace.Les réactions gaz-solide sont à la base de nombreux procédés industriels de transformation de la matière d'importance économique majeure, dont elles conditionnent les performances. Je tente de montrer dans ce mémoire l'apport de la modélisation mathématique pour aider à comprendre les phénomènes et à optimiser les installations. Après une présentation détaillée des processus physiques mis en jeu lors d'une réaction gaz-solide à l'échelle d'une seule particule de solide et des modèles cinétiques susceptibles d'en rendre compte, une deuxième partie est consacrée à la modélisation des réacteurs multiparticulaires. Différentes démarches, notamment pour le couplage des modèles particulaires et des modèles de réacteurs, sont illustrées au travers d'une série d'exemples : pyrolyse du charbon en four tournant, production de tétrafluorure d'uranium en four à lit coulant, incinération des ordures ménagères, thermogravimétrie, fabrication du combustible nucléaire, four électrique d'aciérie

Modeling kinetics of Cd, Pb, and Zn vaporization during municipal solid waste bed incineration

The fate of heavy metals contained in municipal solid waste is of major concern in the incineration process. This study is the first attempt to analyze the kinetic behavior of Cd, Pb, and Zn in a waste bed burning on the grate of an incinerator. The vaporization rates of the three heavy metals were derived from laboratory experiments. The kinetic law was then introduced into Garbed-ss, a mathematical model of the on-grate incineration of a refuse bed. Results show that the calculated vaporization of the three metals is fast, proceeds to nearly full completion, occurs at the pyrolysis front, and is indeed controlled by the thermal degradation of the waste. Alhough in agreement with thermodynamic calculations, the vaporization of lead and zinc seems to be overestimated. The model would be improved by accounting for the initial physical and chemical speciation of the heavy metals in the waste feed. © 2010 American Chemical Society