Incineration

Incineration is the controlled combustion of waste at high temperatures, converting much of it into ash and gases. Facilities may recover energy from the heat.

Combustion: A chemical reaction in which a fuel reacts with an oxidant, releasing heat and often light. Incinerators use combustion to break down combustible waste and release heat.
Municipal solid waste: Everyday discarded material collected from households, businesses, and institutions in a municipality. Mixed municipal waste is a major feedstock for large-scale incinerators.
Landfill: An engineered site where waste is deposited, compacted, and isolated from the surrounding environment. Landfills store waste rather than destroying it through combustion.
Dioxins and furans: Groups of toxic, persistent organic compounds that can form during combustion and other industrial processes. Poorly controlled combustion and cooling can create these pollutants in flue gas.
Waste incineration emissions standards: Legal limits and monitoring requirements governing pollutants released by waste-incineration facilities. Standards define permitted emissions and the controls operators must install and maintain.
Mass-burn incineration: A waste-incineration method that burns mixed municipal solid waste without extensive sorting or preprocessing. It is a common furnace design for handling mixed household waste.
Medical waste: Waste generated by healthcare activities, including infectious materials, sharps, and certain pharmaceuticals. Specialized incineration can destroy infectious material and reduce waste volume.
Mechanical biological treatment: A waste-treatment process combining mechanical sorting with biological treatment of biodegradable fractions. It separates or stabilizes waste before disposal instead of relying on direct combustion.
Particulate matter: A mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets suspended in air. Combustion produces particles that require capture before exhaust leaves the stack.
Continuous emissions monitoring system: Equipment that measures and records selected pollutants or operating parameters in an exhaust stream over time. Continuous monitoring helps regulators assess whether a facility complies with emission limits.

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