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Computers them. Engng, Vol. 15, No. 5, pp.

297-304,
Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved

SIMULATION

OF

1991

0098-l 354191 83.00 + 0.00


Copyright 0 1991 Pcrgamon Press plc

A SLAGGING

M.-Y.

INCINERATION

PROCESS

WEY, J. DEGRJWE and P. VAN ROMPAY

Dept Chemical Engineering, Kath. Universiteit Leuven, De Croylaan 46, 3030 Heverfee (Leuven),
Belgium
(Received

6 April lPPO;$nal
revision received
received for publication
17 January

7 November
1991)

1990;

Abstract-A
simplified model for the simulation of a high-temperature slagging incineration process,
capable of predicting the temperature and composition distribution along the furnace, and the waste
feeding rate has been developed.
The simulation results indicate that the operating temperature does not have a significant effect on the
outside wall temperature, and the waste channel plays an important role in insulating the furnace. The
melting rate is affected by the operating chamber temperature but the bum out rate of combustible waste
depends almost completely on the waste feeding rate, with little effect of operating temperature.

ash and the flue gas formed during the combustion

1. INTRODUCTION
A major area of concern in the design and engineering of hazardous waste incineration processes is to
insure the complete destruction of the waste, and the
production of a flue gas in which hazardous constitu-

ents do not exceed regulatory limits. The high-temperature slagging incineration process (Vanbraband
ei al., 1988) is designed for the treatment of partially
combustible waste, where the ash and melted slag are
formed into an inert state. Due to the very high
temperature, the hazardous chemicals are almost
completely converted into harmless products. The
particles contained in the flue gas are removed when
it is forced to pass through the slagging layer. This
can ensure low particle concentration in exiting flue
gas.
The present work is concerned with the development of a model which can be used to predict the
key parameters of the system such as the feed rate,
the temperature and composition distribution and the
heat transfer between the refractory walls and the
waste.
The basic scheme of a proposed high-temperature
slagging incinerator is shown in Fig. 1 (Van de
Voorde, 1983).
The mixed waste is fed into the combustion
chamber through a vertical annular space, where the
waste is homogeneously distributed by means of
rotating distribution scoops. The waste is pushed
toward the combustion area at the bottom of the
furnace. The refractory wall reflects the intense heat
radiation from the burner gas onto the upper layer of
the waste cone. The temperature of the waste cone
surface reaches the melting point of the incombustible
waste at about 1400C.
In the combustion layer or oxidation zone, the
resulting ash and incombustible waste are melted
together to form a slag. The slag layer and the
underlying waste also provide efficient thermal insulation across which a thermal gradient appears. The
297

are forced to pass through the melting layer, where


the particles are trapped so that the pollution in the
flue gas is reduced. The main burner in the combustion chamber maintains the requested temperature in
the chamber.
The slag flows through the central hole in the lower
part of the main combustion chamber and is finally
collected in a granulator.
The aim of high-temperature slagging incineration
in waste treatment is to reduce the waste volume and
at the same time to convert the waste to an inert state
which can be shown to be harmless to the environment.
A high-volume reduction factor, a low leaching
rate of the products and a complete destruction of
hazardous chemicals are the main merits of this
design.
2. MATHEMATICAL

MODEL

In deriving the mathematical model, the following


assumptions are made:

(a> the inert and waste particles have the same


temperature;

@I the reaction between carbon and oxygen is


assumed to be a zero-order irreversible reaction;
cc>the geometry of the incinerator has cylindrical
symmetry, so only radial and longitudinal velocities are considered;
(d) the heat of reaction is assumed to be imparted
to the gas state;
te) the porosity distribution of waste is obtained
from the pilot plant test data. It varies from 0.8
to 0.1 along the waste channel;
(f) the temperature in the main combustion
chamber is assumed to be homogeneous;
(iid the radiation heat transfer in the bed is neglected. (Although the voidage in the inlet zone

M.-Y.

298

burner

insulation
material

WEy et al.
The mass balance for the gaseous phase is given by:

r&actoty

material

V*(p,u,)

= - $s.

(4)

The mass balance for the solid phase is given by:


V.(p.u.)+s.

(3

combustio

The radius shrinking rate of combustible waste is


given by:
__A e-KIRr
dr
-=
,
U9
dt
PO

chamber

where

wmbustion
layer

Fig. 1. Waste cone.

dt =+.
u

high, the temperature is low. The temperature in the outlet zone is high but the voidage
is low).

is

The equations, which are derived, are based on the


physical presentation shown in Fig. 1.
The equations are derived for an element defined at
radius r and height y, with respective thicknesses in
those directions of Ar and Ay. For the element, the
energy balance includes heat generation by combustion, conductive and convective heat transport, heat
transfer between gas and solid and reacted solid
enthalpy.
Using the previously given assumptions, as in
Fig. 2, the energy balance on the gaseous phase can
be written as:

where

(-$ >.

q=s.n

The terms on the right-hand side represent, respectively, conductive heat transfer, heat generated by
combustion-reaction (the difference between the heat
capacity of reactants and products is covered by the
heat of reaction), and heat exchanged from gas to
solid. The term at the left-hand side of the equation
represents the convective heat transfer.
As in Fig. 2, a differential energy balance for a solid
contained in a differential volume can be written as:
P+,C,,V*(T,)

= V(k,,

VT,) + h,S(T*

The unburned waste fraction of combustible waste is


given by:

-_A e_EiRr.

0
-

ri

Energy and mass balance calculations are performed, based on the specification of the design and
on operating conditions, with the primary objective
of calculating the temperature and waste composition
distribution along the incinerator as well as the slag
melting rate.
Incinerator design specifications include the thickness and conductivity of the furnace body and the
volume of the unit.
3.

THE

SOLUTION

OF THE

SIMULATION

MODEL

The system of equations developed is nonlinear due


to the Arrhenius form of the kinetic rate expression
and due to the temperature dependence of the conductivity, density and specific heat. Furthermore, the
equations are coupled through the reaction, convection terms, reacted solid term and the heat transfer
between gas and solid, thus making a numerical
solution mandatory.
A certain velocity profile is imposed on the flow
through the system, avoiding the need for a momentum balance. Some velocity angles which depend on
soiiiinput

- T,)- (2)

*as

input

1
reacted

The terms on the right-hand side represent, respectively, conductive heat transfer, heat exchanged from
solid to gas. The term at the left-hand side of the
equation represents the convective heat transfer.
The reaction rate (the net mass of material per unit
area and time in which it is transferred from a solid
to a gas due to occurrence of a reaction), according
to the assumption of zero order, can be written as:
dw
-=
dr

?I,=

SOlid

solid

Fig.

2. Mass

and

output

energy

transfer
phase.

*as output
between

solid

and

gas

Simulation of a slaggingincinerationprocess

the feed panel arrangement are chosen to compute


velocity profile. The velocity angles (as in Fig. 13)
which get homogeneous velocity distribution along
the waste channel are chosen for present simulation
work. The velocity angle is defined as in Fig. 4. With
velocity angle, combined with equations (4) and (5)
the velocity profile is computed.
To obtain a numerical solution, a control volume
approach together with the finite difference method
was used to discretize the governing equations on a
2-D generalized mesh.
This procedure reduces the set of governing
differential equations to a large number of coupled
algebraic equations. These nonlinear equations are
solved iteratively by the Newton-Raphson method.
A convenient algorithm for the simulation procedure is shown in Fig. 3.
The input data include the geometry of the furnace,
the inlet gas and waste composition, density, conductivity, specific heat and porosity.
The shape factor between the refractory material
and the slag film is computed from the geometry of
the furnace and is used for the calculation of the
radiation heat transfer from the refractory material to
the slag film.
A suitable operating temperature and waste feed
rate are guessed before computation of the temperature and composition distributions.

299

Equations (l-7) are solved iteratively with the first


guess of temperature and composition distribution.
The block tridiagonal method together with the
alternating direction implicit (ADI) method are used
to solve equations (l-5) for getting temperature
distribution. With temperature distribution, the unburned waste fraction of combustible waste is computed by equations (6) and (7).
After solving the equations, the results are checked
to see if all combustible waste has been burned. If not,
the waste feed rate has to be changed.
After obtaining a suitable waste feed rate, the
melting rate of the incombustible waste is computed
by equations (13-16). The result is then compared
with the incombustible waste feed rate. Again if these
do not agree, the operating chamber temperature is
adjusted.

4. CORRELATIONS FOR THE HEAT TRANSFER


COEFFICIENTS, AND PHYSICOCHRMICAL
PROPERTIES

The heat transfer coefficient between solid and gas


h, is evaluated from an expression proposed by
Bradshaw (Bennett et al., 1974):
h,/Cp,/G(Cpey/k,)23

(8)

Re = 4OOS10,000,
Re = du,p,/p(,(l

eomeby

= 2.5 Re-I*,

- 6).

The thermal conductivities of porous media (solid


and gas) are probably best correlated with Russells
equation (Perry, 1973):

of furnace

kcamp/k,= (vE~.~ + 1 - .E.=)

t [V(Lo.= - c) + 1 - .Eo-66
+ f].

(9)

The term v is the ratio of the thermal conductivity


of the air to that of the solid phase:

The convective heat transfer coefficient from wall


to ambient air is taken from the McAdams proposal
(Niessen, 1978):
lve equations(l -7)

to

h,, = 17,7 15 (A 7-)-.

(10)

For the convective heat transfer between combustion gas and refractory material or slag film, the
equation developed by Dittus and Boelter is applied
(t)zisik, 1977):
hmfD/kf = 0.23 Re--* x Pr.3,(ml),

(11)

Re = Du,P,/~~,
mpam

meslagmelling

0.7 < Pr -c 100,


Re > 10,000.

Fig. 3. Procedure for the simulation of the slagging incineration process.

The reaction rate can be expressed by the following


equation:
-dw/dt

= A x e-xrRT.

(12)

WEy et al.

M.-Y.

300

The kinetic data are derived from a laboratory


experiment for the burning out time (Dinamax,
1989):
for PVC:

The melting rate can be obtained by the following


equation:
M = (Br +

A = 3 x 1Okg h-1.m-2,
(for 500-800 K)

E/R = 6000 K

~800 K, reaction rate is slightly changed,


-z500 K, no reaction.

Pcomp= (CA + GM(G~,)lA


c p,eomp
= rqc(c&)

The shape factor for use in radiative heat exchange


between refractory material and slag fiIm can be
obtained from the following equation:

(cos p, cos rp,/7c1)dA, dA,.


il Al A2

(14)

The heat transfer between flue gas and slag film can
be obtained from the following equation:
A, = hm,Az(Tfg - q).

waste

specificheat
density

+ C).

320
320
0.05
0.05

temperature
particle radius

velocity (0,4mih, aCA--E.

(K)
(m)

1 -58-W)

operotlng
CombWon
chamber

qddlk~,

PVC glass (SiO2)


30%
70%
540
7920 (J/h.m.K)
1~6 1460 (JW.OKl
1500
3000 (Kg/m3)

mmpcsitiin
conductivity

320K

(15)

specitiiticns

Inlet

GJPJ x (1 - c 1, (17)

k=51?iJ/h.m.K)

I
I *=lrS.n~J/h

temperatu

Combustion

*the

coordinate

unit

(18)

The general conditions under which the simulation


of the HTSI was carried out are given in Fig. 4.
Other special conditions are given in the figures
that follow.
The results of the calculations are shown in
Figs S-17.
The composition
distribution along the waste
channel is shown in Fig. 5. The combustion mainly
takes place in the neighbourhood of the outlet hole.
Figures 6-9 show the isotherms of the refractory
wall, of the insulation wall, and of the waste in the
waste bed of the incinerator. The isotherms are
concentrated in the neighbourhood of the outlet hole.
This means that the temperature gradients are quite

(13)

Tf).

5. DISCUSSION OF RESULTS

The heat transfer between refractory material and


slag film can be obtained
from the following
equation:
fir = aA,F2,,(T; -

(16)

BfgYm.

The density and specific heat of the solid phase are


computed from the fraction of incombustible and
combustible waste:

is meter

Fig. 4. General conditions used for simulation of the high-temperature slag incineration process.

Simulationof a slaggingincinerationprocess

complete
cambustion

(0.3.0)

(l..O)

material

Fig. 5. Waste composition distribution.

Fig_ 6. Temperaturedistributionfor an operatingchamber


temperatureof 1800 K.

Fig. 7. Temperaturedistributionfor an operatingchamber


temperatureof 1900 K.

Fig. 8. Temperaturedistributionfor an operatingchamber


temperatureof 2000 K.
high in this area. A different operating chamber
temperature has some effect on refractory wall temperature, but little effect on the outside wall temperature. The waste channel acts as a good insulation
layer.
Figure 10 shows isotherms of the refractory wall,
of the insulation wall, and of the waste in the waste
bed of the incinerator with different sizes.
Figure 11 shows the melting rate of incombustible
waste as a function of operating temperature. Increasing the operating temperature will enhance the
radiation and convection heat transfer from the flue
gas to slag film, and the reflected radiation heat from
the refractory wall to slag film.
Figure 12 shows the melting rate of incombustible
waste as a function of different sizes of incinerator.
Figure 13 shows the effect of the feed rate and
assumed velocity angle on the outlet waste composition. Increasing the feed rate will reduce the

Fig. 9. Temperature
distribution for an operating
temperature
of 2100 K.

chamber

302

M.-Y.

scale

WEY er al.

UP ratio=2

Fig. 10. Temperaturedistributionfor differentsizesof incinerator(the scaleof Fig. 4 correspondsto unity).


residence time of the waste, and increase the unburned waste fraction. The choice of velocity angles
for the simulation does not have much effect on the
unburned waste fraction.
Figure 14 shows the relation between incinerator
scale and outlet unburned waste fraction.
Figure 15 shows the effect of particle size on
unburned waste fraction. Increasing the particle size
500

3
z

300-

P
2

200

will reduce the specific area, and results in more


unburned waste.
Figures 16-17 show the sensitivity of the unburned waste fraction to the Arrhenius frequency
factor and activation energy, respectively. Since
the activation energy appears in an exponential
form, it has a significant effect on unburned waste
fraction.

E
B
G

loo0
1700

1
1800

Operating

i
1900

I
ecmo

I
2100

chamber temperature

I
2200

PK)

Fig. 1I. Melting rate of incombustiblewaste as a function


of operatingtemperature.

01

1.0

I
1.2

I
1.4

Scale

I.8

1.6

up ratio

I
2.0

I
2.2

Fig. 12. Melting rate of incombustiblewaste as a function


of scale up ratio (the scale of Fig. 4 correspondsto unity).

Simulation of a slagging incineration process


1

s
e
-

.o

0.8

0.6

z
e
0.6

i?

0
t

.Fj

0.4

L3

640-660

640-6W

0
e
D
E
3
3

0.2

5 0.6
.z
01
i

0.3

L;

0.5

0.7

Feeding

i
0.9

rate

1 .I

1.3

0.4

0.2

go00

d
6000

7oOo

E/R

(m/h)

Fig. 13. Feeding rate effect on unburned waste fraction at


different angles assumed.
0.20

so00

6om

10.000

I
11,000

(OKI

Fig. 17. Sensitivity of unburned waste fraction to assumed


activation energy.
6. CONCLUSION

7.0

The results obtained


following conclusions:

1.2

1.4

1 .6

2.0

1.8

2.2

Scale up ratio

Fig. 14. Unburned waste fraction as a function of scale up


ratio (the scale of Fig. 4 corresponds to unity).

from the simulation

imply the

1. The operating
temperature
does not have a
significant effect on the outside wall temperature.
2. The insulation part shows a relatively high temperature. A cooling system can reduce this effect.
3. The melting rate is affected by the operating
chamber temperature,
but the burning out rate
is mostly affected by the waste feed rate.
4. The assumed velocity angle has only little effect
on the outlet combustible waste fraction, within
the range of cases simulated.
5. The slag layer and the underlying waste provide
efficient thermal insulation across which a thermal gradient appears.

NOMENCLATURE
A = Arrhenius frequency factor (kg h~.m~2)
A, = Refractory material area (mZ)
A, = Slag fllm area (m2)

Particle

radius

tm)

Fig. 15. Particle size effect of unburned waste fraction.


0.6

,-

z
E

0.4

0)
5

0.3

3
v
p
2
5

.s

o.*
0.1
0.5

Fig. 16. Sensitivity of unburned waste fraction to assumed


Arrhenius constant.

c = Waste fraction (at the inlet)


C, = Specific heat (J kg-. K-t)
D = Inner diameter of furnace (m)
d = Diameter of particle (m)
E = Activation energy (J moi-)
F12 = Interchange factor from A, to A,
F,, = Interchange factor from A, to A,
G = Gas mass flow rate (kg m-*.h-)
H = Heat of reaction (J kg-)
h = Heat transfer coefficient (J m-*.h-I-K-)
k = Conductivity (J h-.m--K-l)
I = Distance between refractory material and slag
film (m)
M = Melting rate (kg h-l)
m = Melting heat (J kg-i)
n = Unburned waste fraction
Pr = Prandtl number
4 = Heat production (J hm1.m-3)
R = Universal gas constant (J moll.K-)
Re = Reynolds number
r = Radius of combustible waste (m)
S = Specific area (mZmp3)
T = Temperature (K)
AT = Temperature difference between wall and ambient air gas (K)
t = Reaction time (h)

M.-Y.

304
u =
u =
v =
dwldt =
a =
fi =
L=
p =
Q=

Velocity (m h-l)
Volume flow rate (m h-l)
Volume of waste channel (m3)
Reaction rate Cknm-2*h-1
Velocity angle Pj
Heat transfer to slag film (J h-)
Void fraction
Density (kg m-j)
2.0376 x 10e4 J me2 K-h-l
(Stefan-Boltzmann
constant)
cp, = Przjection angle from refractory material to slag

rp, = Eje2zp

angle from

slag film to refractory

p = Viscosity (kg m~2-h~)


Subscripts

a=Air
c = Combustible waste
camp = Composite material
f = Refractory wall
g=Gas
i = Inlet
1 = Slag film
m = Transfer between solid and air
ma = Transfer between furnace wall
air

and

ambient

WEY et al.
mf = Transfer between combustion gas and refractory
material
ml = Transfer between combustion gas and slag film
s = Solid
u = Incombustible waste
fg = Combustion gas
REFERENCES

Bennett C. 0. and I. E. Myers, Momentum, Weat and Mass


Transfer, p. 388. McGraw-Hill, New York (1974).
Dinamax. Experimental data of plastics material burningout rate. Dinamax Co., Belgium (unpublished) (1989).
Niessen W. R., Combusrion and Incineration Process, p. 123.
Marcel Dekker, New York (19781.
&isik M. N., Basic Weat Trahsfer,. p. 264. McGraw-Hill,
New York (1977).
Perry R. H., Chem&al Engineers Handbook 5, pp. 3-242.
McGraw-Hill, New York (1973).
Van de Voorde N., The high temperature slagging incineration at Mol, Belgium (Process Description). (Internal
Document) Waste Dept, SCK/CEN,
Mel,
Belgium
(1983).
V&braband R., Levandowski P. and Van Houte G., Off gas
treatment at incineration facility. The Incineration Conf.
on Incineration of HazardousRadioactive
and Mixid
Wastes, Proceedings (1988).

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