Every year, 2.12 billion tons of waste is produced worldwide. Although more than 75% of this is recyclable, only 30% is recycled. Waste-to-energy is a technology increasingly used to generate energy (power and heat) through the sustainable management of municipal solid waste, with 50% of this waste considered renewable. Waste incineration involves the combustion of organic materials found in municipal solid waste and industrial standard waste materials. Each tonne of waste burned can provide energy to a household for a month.
Considering this situation, designers and operators of waste incineration plants are constantly looking for ways to increase their efficiency. Solutions are available. One of these solutions, HGH's thermography cameras, provides consistent and reliable monitoring to ensure complete combustion of all organic materials in the waste. HGH's pyrometric cameras provide a wealth of data that can be fed into control systems in real time to optimize plant operation.
A modern incineration plant must ensure complete combustion of all organic matter in the waste while minimizing emissions, maximizing the recovery of heat produced in the furnace and optimizing maintenance and operating costs. To burn materials that are sometimes very solid, incinerators must typically reach a temperature of 850°C to over 1100°C. This temperature and its distribution must be controlled to prevent the formation of hot spots that could damage the grill or the walls of the oven and to ensure that the heat is released in the right place and transferred efficiently to the boilers. HGH thermography cameras measure temperatures at any point in the image, allowing to map temperatures in the combustion zone and identify hotter or colder locations. Areas of interest can be specifically monitored and linked to temperature alarm thresholds, so operators can be alerted when there is an increased risk of damage to the furnace or when there is a risk of emissions rising above critical values, when there is a risk of waste burning too quickly or too slowly.
The slag and ashes at the grate outlet should no longer contain organic matter when combustion is complete. An effective way to achieve such harmony is to stop combustion well before the end of the grate; but it should still be far enough away from the oven entrance so that temperatures are evenly distributed throughout the grill and the heat is released gradually and in the right place to ensure efficient transfer. Correct control of the combustion stop or flame front is of great importance for the effective operation of the facility. To this end, HGH has developed a specially designed algorithm in partnership with waste incineration leaders worldwide to provide accurate and real-time flame front detection in the furnaces of waste-to-energy plants. The position of the flame front is transmitted in real time to the oven control system, which adjusts the grill speed and airflow in various areas and turns on the burners if necessary.
Many measurements made by HGH cameras are processed at high speed and made available to control systems in real time via standard data interfaces. Such continuous, small-step adjustment of the operating point of the furnace minimizes energy consumption and mechanical stresses on the actuators, thus reducing operating and maintenance costs. There is also the possibility of implementing high-level algorithms and expert systems that will further improve the overall performance of the plant.
HGH heavy duty camera PYROSCAN is available in basically two configurations:
PYROSCANis a temperature-resistant camera and can be equipped with an automatic insertion/withdrawal mechanism, allowing the water-cooled endoscope to be inserted into ovens close to the area of interest without masking or attenuation of the signal.
PYROSCAN-U PYROSCAN-U is a durable camera that looks outside the high-temperature combustion zone of the kilns into the calcination zone through a standard window. It operates at ambient temperature without a cooling system, and its compact design supports applicability in areas with limited space.
Both system versions are supported by powerful software that processes images and interfaces with the Distributed Control System (DCS) in real time. The system presents with an intuitive and user-friendly interface (HMI) that displays enhanced visible and thermal images and provides users with a complete set of tools for operations such as data history and trend analysis, temperature distributions and profiles, recording and replaying temperature data.
These solutions are critical to improving the efficiency of waste incinerators, reducing costs and minimizing their environmental impact.
