cient range at the beginning o{ an operating day. 
The furnace should be designed to insure tempera- 
tures of at least 1250° F. 
The conversion of any partially burned or odor- 
ous gases into a less objectionable state is the 
third stage in the incineration process. The burn- 
ing of these gases usually occurs in the combus- 
tion chamber, which must be well designed to 
insure optimum velocity of gases and temperatures 
of at least 1400° F. Th is is a critical stage in 
incineration, as far as atmospheric contamination 
is concerned, for incomplete or faulty operation of 
this process is likely to result in excessive smoke 
and odors being emitted from the stack. To help 
meet the strict requirements of current air pollution 
regulations, additional facilities in the form of 
dust collectors, spray collectors, baffling, wet 
scrubbers, or other device s are frequently desir- 
able. 
Advantages and Benefits of Incineration 
1. Incinerators may be located close to or in 
the center of refuse production areas, 
thereby minimizing haul distances. 
2. Modem incinerators eliminate the need 
to collect garbage and rubbish separately, 
thus reducing collection costs. 
3. Incinerators may be designed with capaci- 
ties large enough for future population in- 
creases, or may be built so as to facilitate 
subsequent enlargement of plant capacity. 
4. Incineration considerably reduces the vol- 
ume of material for ultimate disposal. This 
residue may be used for filling in low areas 
or for local road construction. 
5. Waste heat may be used for the drying of 
municipal sewage sludge, and this sludge 
may also be burned in incinerator plants. 
6. In some modem incinerator plants, waste 
heat can be utilized to produce steam for 
generating electricity or for steam heating. 
7. Some plants realize enough income from the 
sale of steam and scrap metal to pay opera- 
tion costs. 
Well designed and efficiently operated incinera- 
tors completely eliminate food for rats and breeding 
places for flies, which are available when insani- 
tary methods of refuse disposal are used. In addi- 
tion, smoke and odor nuisance is abated and the 
residue, when treated properly, offers no place for 
mosquito breeding or rat harborage. 
Table 2. Suggested Incinerator Sizes 
Population 
Tons 
per Day* 
Cubic Yards 
per Day** 
Incinerator 
Capacity*** 
20,000 
40 
320 
one «nit @60 T in 8 hrs. t 
50,000 
100 
800 
two units @75 T per unit 
in 8 hrs. t 
100,000 
200 
1,600 
two units @ 150 T per unit 
in 8 hrs. * 
500,000 
1,000 
8,000 
four units @300 T per unit 
in >24 hrs. tt 
1,000,000 
2,000 
16,000 
two plants with four units each 
@300 T per unit in 24 hrs. ♦♦ 
* Based on 4 lbs per day per capita — refuse, rubbish and garbage 
** Based on 250 lbs per cu yd or 8 cu yds per ton 
*** Suggested unit size allowing for growth and increased use of paper 
I 507. 
tt 20% 
25 
