1. Repercussions of clinical waste co-incineration in municipal solid waste incinerator during COVID-19 pandemic.
- Author
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Lan, Dong-Ying, Zhang, Hua, Wu, Ting-Wei, Lü, Fan, Shao, Li-Ming, and He, Pin-Jing
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COVID-19 pandemic , *SOLID waste , *INCINERATORS , *MUNICIPAL solid waste incinerator residues , *INCINERATION , *HEAVY metal toxicology , *AIR pollution control - Abstract
During coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, the exponential increase in clinical waste (CW) generation has caused immense burden to CW treatment facilities. Co-incineration of CW in municipal solid waste incinerator (MSWI) is an emergency treatment method. A material flow model was developed to estimate the change in feedstock characteristics and resulting acid gas emission under different CW co-incineration ratios. The ash contents and lower heating values of the feedstocks, as well as HCl concentrations in flue gas showed an upward trend. Subsequently, 72 incineration residue samples were collected from a MSWI performing co-incineration (CW ratio <10 wt%) in Wuhan city, China, followed by 20 incineration residues samples from waste that were not co-incineration. The results showed that the contents of major elements and non-volatile heavy metals in the air pollution control residues increased during co-incineration but were within the reported ranges, whereas those in the bottom ashes revealed no significant changes. The impact of CW co-incineration at a ratio <10 wt% on the distribution of elements in the incineration residues was not significant. However, increase in alkali metals and HCl in flue gas may cause potential boiler corrosion. These results provide valuable insights into pollution control in MSWI during pandemic. [Display omitted] • Clinical waste co-incineration in municipal solid waste incinerator was evaluated. • HCl in flue gas increased from 825 to 3359 mg/Nm3 with the CW ratio from 0% to 20%. • Alkali and heavy metals in air pollution control residues increased with CW ratios. • The CW co-incineration ratios ought to be below 10 wt%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
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