explain the short- and long-term impacts of landfills and incineration of waste materials on the...
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INCINERATORS
D18
Explain the short- and long-term impacts of landfills and incineration of waste materials on the quality of the environment.
LEARNING TARGETS
I can explain how an incinerator works. I can explain the short-term
environmental effects of an incinerator. I can explain the long-term
environmental effects of an incinerator.
WHAT IS AN INCINERATOR?
A building designed to burn solid waste at extremely high temperatures (as high as 2000° C)
Accounts for 14% of US waste disposal The burning of refuse drastically
reduces the volume of the solid waste.
INCINERATOR PROCESS
The heat generated by the process is captured to create steam to turn turbines to produce electricity.
HOW DOES AN INCINERATOR MAKE ENERGY?
HOW MUCH MSW CAN BE INCINERATED? Virtually all of the contents of the
municipal solid waste stream are combustible at the high temperature
Examples of combustible material include paper, food, yard waste, plastic, rubber, and wood.
Non-combustible materials in the waste stream include glass, metals, ceramics, and clay.
PROBLEMS WITH INCINERATORS
Makes landfills more toxic Use the ash as the daily cover layer
Air Pollution Lack of monitoring Toxic metals (mercury, arsenic, lead, cadmium, etc.) Acid Gases (Hydrogen Fluoride, Hydrochloric Acid, Sulfuric
Acid) Particulate matter – health effects Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), Sulfur Oxides (SOx)
Destroys materials instead of recycling Global warming contribution worse than zero waste
solutions Makes the problem "invisible" rather than making it
very visible Very costly to build (up to $200 million)
PROBLEMS WITH INCINERATORS
BENEFITS OF INCINERATORS
Ash has virtually no groundwater contamination risk if landfill is properly designed
Smaller amount of land needed Does not have to be capped off
They can be used continuously
Dumping in landfills is becoming expensive which makes incinerators more cost-effective
Possible solution to the nation’s energy needs
Reduces the amount of waste that must be landfilled
Allows us to use the non-recyclable trash
BENEFITS OF INCINERATORS
LEARNING TARGET CHECKPOINT
How does an incinerator work? What are the short-term environmental
effects of an incinerator? What are the long-term environmental
effects of an incinerator?
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