Dual chamber incinerators are well suited to the destruction of a wide range of medical waste types. Many of our medical incinerators feature autoloaders to increase productivity by enabling continuous operation. The quantities of waste and their calorific value will often dictate the overall performance of any waste management solution.
Parts of a Medical Incinerator
- Primary Chamber (Combustion Chamber) & this is where the waste is loaded and ignited. In most incinerators, the ignition occurs due to the high ambient temperatures being retained within the chamber’s lining.
- Secondary Chamber & sometimes also called the afterburner’ chamber is required by law in Europe, USA, Australia and Canada to prevent the formation of harmful particulates. In many countries, the laws stipulate that all flue gas must be resident in this secondary chamber for a minimum of 2 seconds at 850°C.
- Flue Stack & is also known as the chimney. Most incinerators require a stack height of at least 3m. This will be considerably higher in more built-up areas or where atmospheric conditions dictate.
- Control Panel & Thermocouples & these control the operation of the machine and ensure the chambers are up to temperature BEFORE any waste is loaded for incineration.
- Burners on most modern incinerators are fitted with low NOx or modulated gas flow burners.
- Fuel Tanks should be bunded to ensure safe storage of fuel.
What is a Dual Chamber Incinerator?
Single chamber incinerators no longer conform to strict environmental guidelines required for burning waste streams containing medical and pharmaceutical waste. In a single chamber incinerator, the materials are burnt at temperatures typically between 600-850°C. The waste gasses then travel through the flue and into the atmosphere. This may contain excessive amounts of chemicals and particles that are damaging to the atmosphere and the environment.
Dual chamber systems operate by incinerating the waste stream in a primary chamber between 600-850°C then incinerating the waste gases for a second time in a secondary combustion chamber. The secondary chamber typically operates between 850-1100°C and is designed to burn the waste gases for at least 2 seconds. Larger-capacity incinerators are usually designed to cater for high burn rates. The purpose of a secondary combustion chamber in the incineration process is to prevent toxic chemicals and combustion gases from being released into the atmosphere.
Why is Dual Chamber combustion important?
Our secondary chamber technology prevents dioxins from cracking into smaller, but more reactive molecules, this is known as “de novo formation“. This can be especially apparent in the presence of heavy metals, which can act as a catalyst.
The prevention method can be explained as follows:
The system is designed to force the micro particulates to pass through a flame curtain, this burns harmful emissions, gas remnants are then retained in the secondary chamber, through thermal decomposition, and complex, controlled air distribution to ensure a clean odourless emission.
All of our range of Medical Waste Incinerators are designed with dual combustion chambers. They are also designed to cater for large quantities of medical waste.
