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Characterization of Gas and Particle Emissions from Solid Waste Combustions
XIAOLIANG WANG, Hatef Firouzkouhi, Matthew Claassen, Judith Chow, John Watson, Gerhard Fourie, Mabu Mamadi, Desert Research Institute
Abstract Number: 94
Working Group: Combustion
Abstract
Open burning of household waste is a common practice in many rural areas in developing countries. Due to limited resources for collection and proper disposal, household and municipal solid waste is often disposed in neighborhoods and open burned in piles to reduce odors and create space for incoming waste. Emissions from these ground-level and low-temperature burns cause air pollution, leading to adverse health effects among community residents. This study conducted a laboratory chamber combustion experiment to characterize gas and particle emissions from eight waste categories representative of those burned in South Africa: paper, leather/rubber, textiles, plastic bottles, plastic bags, vegetation, food discards, and combined materials. Carbon dioxide (CO2) and carbon monoxide (CO) were measured in real-time to calculate modified combustion efficiencies (MCE), which is used to determine emission factors (EFs) during flaming and smoldering phases as well as the entire combustion process. Fuel elemental composition and moisture content have strong influences on emissions. Plastic bags have the highest carbon content and the highest combustion efficiency, leading to the highest EFs for CO2. Textiles have the highest nitrogen and sulfur contents, resulting in the highest EFs for nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur dioxide (SO2). Emissions are similar for vegetation with 0% and 20% moisture contents; however, EFs for CO and particulate matter (PM) from the vegetation with 50% moisture content are 3 and 30 times, respectively, of those from 0% an 20% moisture contents. Particle size distributions (6 nm – 10 µm), light scattering, and absorption properties vary among the fuels and during the burning cycle. Results from this study are applicable to emission inventory improvements as well as air quality management to assess the health and climate effects of household waste open burning.