Air Pollution Control in Municipal Solid Waste Incinerators

Abstract

Municipal solid waste (MSW) remains a major problem in modern societies, even though the significant efforts to prevent, reduce, reuse and recycle. At present, municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) in waste-to-energy (WtE) plants is one of the main management options in most of the developed countries. The technology for recovering energy from MSW has evolved over the years and now sophisticated air pollution control (APC) equipment insures that emissions comply with the stringent limits established in developed countries. This chapter shows the role of incineration in WtE processes in the ambit of MSW management, giving an overview of the MSWI technologies and APC devices used for cleaning the gaseous emissions. The main focus is on the key air pollutants, such as dioxins and furans. At the end, the impact of emission on health risks is also briefly considered.