Basics

This page aims to look at the application of Waste Incineration in the context of a scale similar to Burn Barrels BUT with thought taken to various potential forms of pollution, and ways to prevent/alleviate this.

Reasons for Doing So

Disposal of Non-Recyclable Materials (In Areas where Large Scale Processes aren't used for this, just Landfilling) Such As:
- Thermosets
- Foams like Expanded Polystyrene etc
- Hard to shred films (Although Plastic Film Recycling can be done with the right workflow)
- Multilayer Films / Mixed Packaging Waste
Privacy/Security ( "Burn Bags" )
- So Important Documents, Expired Checks/Debit Cards etc
- Although Shredding and/or Pulping are substitutes to an extent, the issue of local accessibility is another potential justification for small scale waste incineration

This is the most straightforward, and the main solution is enough air and heat in the fire
Granted Flame Temperature Emissions Curve ranges need to be taken into account (to an extent more heat = more NOx , less heat means more CO etc)
Between the small scale+frequency though (compared to Mass Motorization or Grid Scale powerplants etc) this isn't too major of an issue

Unlike CO and Hydrocarbons, Dioxins still do pose an issue as they Bioaccumulate
How dioxins form, how to minimize this, and how to potentially scrub them from emissions needs to be investigated
- A TLUD with Charcoal above and below the RDF may be able to trap the dioxins?

This is largely an issue of pre-sorting the waste
Undyed Paper and Plastics shouldn't have this issue at all
- Investigating what dyes may contain pollutants that could concentrate in the Bottom Ash etc is something to look in, especially if Ash Utilization is planned
Magnetic Strips from Debit Cards and so on may have odd materials in them, granted 1 card per "batch" done every few months or so isn't too significant, needs to be looked into though

This cannot be "burned up" unlike Diesel Particulate Matter / Soot type particulate emissions
Given scale and frequency shouldn't be TOO huge of an issue, but more dedicated devices could address this with a rudimentary ESP unit etc