Eco-fair 2

   In conventional incinerators waste is burned on reciprocating grates in lined chambers.  Combustible gases and their solids are burned in secondary chambers.  Combustible materials are burned to 85% to 90% completion.  Carbon Dioxide, water, sulfur, and nitrogen oxides and other pollutants are produced in addition to heat.  Fly ash and other particles are often kept in check by bag filters, wet scrubbers, and electrostatic precipators.  The fly ash is then shipped to cover landfills.

    We recently went on a tour of the Montgomery County Incinerator or MERMCI.  They are a waste to energy incinerator which processes municipal waste.  They will generally accept anything you throw out except reject waste, which is processed seperately.  They process approximately 1216 tons a day or about 32400 pounds an hour.  The trash burns at 750 dgrees Ferenheit, their boilers, which produce steam for electricity, operate at 2300 to 2400 degrees ferenheit.  For safety reasons the boilers and furnaces operate all the time except for a few days a year, when they're shut down for servicing.  As for pollution issues the facilityis very clean.  Before any air leaves the building, it must pass through a scrubber, a precipitator, and a baghouse.  All output materials are monitered by the CEMS(Continuous Emission Monitering System), the computer monitering program designed to moniter output and input.  In the end the cooling tower lets out only water vapor.  

    MERMCI is under contract for twenty-six towns.  They recieve 100% of their trash, but only 95% can be processed.  This facility reduces waste volume by 95%, and increases weight by 70%.  They a recycling center on sight which handles mostly plastic and some aluminums.  The steam from the boiler drives a generator.   MERMCI sells the power to PECO.  The generator produces thirty-six mega-watts of power, enough to power a small town.