Incineration

‘Waste to Energy’ (WtE) or ‘Energy from Waste’ (EfW) concepts have been widely acknowledged as making a significant contribution to a modern Integrated Waste Management (IWM) strategy. Continuous technical development in this area has led to a variety of IWM systems, integrating the various forms of thermal treatment technologies such as grate incineration, fluidised bed, gasification and pyrolysis as well as anaerobic digestion and landfill gas utilisation, into the waste treatment mix. Juniper also provides advice on alternatives to incineration, which may be useful for comparison purposes.

Juniper is recognised as a leading source of data, market research and analysis on thermal treatment of wastes in Europe and elsewhere.

Thermal waste treatment concepts and incineration in particular have been criticised in terms of waste minimisation, recycling rates, renewable energy targets and environmental impacts. In many European countries novel thermal processes based on the concept of the pyrolysis or gasification of waste have been promoted as a ‘better’ approach to thermal waste treatment than incineration. Public policy makers have been interested to see whether such novel thermal systems are a more attractive option than incineration, particularly because they see such solutions as less controversial in terms of public acceptance. Private developers and venture capitalists are attracted by the commercial possibilities of a new growth sector in the waste management industry. However, managers responsible for organising and operating waste management infrastructure have been concerned by the short track record of many of the novel systems and, therefore, the increased potential operating risk. Most thermal waste treatment plants are implementing some form of incineration system using proven technologies that take environmental concerns as well as reliability and operability issues into account.

Traditional thermal treatment, i.e. incineration, includes traditional grate systems such as

• Travelling Grates

• Roller & Stoker Grates

• Forward & Backward Reciprocating Grates

• Rotary and oscillating kilns

As well as fluidised bed combustion offered as bubbling or circulating fluidised bed technologies which are becoming more and more popular, especially in Europe. Another driver in the incineration industry is the continuous development in the air pollution control sector in order to meet or surpass regulatory targets as environmental awareness and public concerns increase. Juniper provides information on available technology options, their track record and analysis of best practical options taking into account technical and commercial concerns. We have carried out numerous studies on this subject including:

Case Study 1

A U.S. multinational asked us to undertake an evaluation of the technology needs for Nox Abatement and then to quantify the opportunity for a new technology solution.

Case Study 2

We have been commissioned to undertake an independent technology review on behalf of a public authority reporting on the risks and technology issues associated with fluidised bed incineration of municipal solid waste.

Case Study 3

We were asked by a leading French waste management company to undertake an analysis of the demand for Energy from Waste in the UK market and to identify a number of projects.

Case Study 4

We were asked by a German technology provider to undertake a review of the segmentation of the world-wide incineration market by boiler technology type utilising our in-house database.

Case Study 5

We undertook an independent technology review of a small-scale incineration technology on behalf of a venture capital fund.

Case Study 6

We were commissioned to conduct a worldwide review of proprietary ash stabilisation technologies on behalf of a UK engineering company that was seeking strategic partnerships.

Our services are founded on our own primary research; we track the progress of thermal treatment technologies and in particular the status of available technology options as well as changes in the industry and the status of reference projects throughout the world. Our proprietary database contains over 600 waste incineration plants operating worldwide. To date, we have provided information or consulting services to companies and organisations in more than 30 countries including, for example, Japanese and South African Government Agencies, the European Commission, Hong Kong EPA, the City of Edmonton and commercial clients that include international energy utilities, waste management companies, and process engineering firms.

Our range of services in this area cover the following main categories

• Basic information services concerning commercial & technical plant data

• Comprehensive market studies of the incineration and air pollution control markets in Europe and elsewhere

• Competitive analysis and benchmarking studies covering a wide range of incineration and air pollution control technologies and companies

Our information services are based on the comprehensive database we have built up over the past 15 years covering over 300 MSW incineration plants in Europe, more than 100 incinerators in the US and another 200 plants located in Asia and South America, as well as incineration plants processing sewage sludge, clinical waste and combustion plants for various types of biomass material.

As a specialist consultancy to the waste management sector, Juniper provides practical help and advice to public and private sector clients across the world. Juniper advises clients on a wide range of issues related to waste incineration. For example, we provide independent analysis of technologies and processes. We have experience of analysing which processes are suitable for a client’s particular input waste stream, assessing risk factors, site constraints and process economics. Juniper assists clients to evaluate the relative merits of different vendors’ processes. An essential part of this process is an analysis of economic benefit versus technological risk. The company has conducted several such studies on behalf of commercial clients.

For our market research and consultancy projects we maintain a detailed model of industry trends that tracks the impact of both macro-trends (energy, regulatory, technical) and micro-trends (‘permitting’ of sites, local fiscal initiatives) on overall market development. From this we derive rolling forecasts for key industry segments. Using these models, we can provide custom analysis of environmental markets for individual clients on a confidential basis. Our forecast for the incineration industry includes various scenarios and gives an overview of the coming ten years.

Other issues connected to incineration include ash stabilisation and residue recycling technologies. The disposal and treatment of fly and bottom ash as well as APC residues has been subject to much discussion and debate for some time, especially in Europe. The adoption of a pan-European regulation on residue stabilisation and re-use is being held back by the absence of an agreed test protocol for leaching of salts and metals. Although there is an active programme aimed at defining a test and eventually an EU directive, this has been ongoing for some time and it is not yet clear when this will be in place. Many countries have therefore adopted their own, differing, tests and regulations in relation to residue stabilisation and re-use. Some countries, such as Japan, have established specific standards for these residues and the materials are treated and re-used in civil engineering and the construction industry. As part of our core competence we can advise clients on technology trends and market applications, and help to identify appropriate partner organisations for new business developments.