Waste Treatment/Recycling
Today, there is an urgent public call for reducing CO2 emissions to curb global warming. One answer to this call is the utilization of waste, which offers a valuable alternative energy source that can be used as fuel and is abundantly available from domestic sources.
As we look to the future, waste treatment facilities are expected to contribute to communities as regional energy centers that are helping vitalize local industry via the supply of energy derived from waste treatment. These facilities can also be utilized as our bases for disaster response at times of emergency.
We are developing technologies to support these facilities, pursuing breakthroughs in terms of energy creation and conservation while looking to reduce the volume of incineration residues with the aim of helping realize United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Furthermore, we are focused on developing facility automation technologies to help address issues arising from the lack of human resources available to take on waste treatment operations given Japan’s declining birthrate and graying society.
Gasification Combustion Furnace
We have developed a gasification combustion furnace capable of maintaining combustion at a low excess air ratio via the application of gasification technologies accumulated in the course of developing gasification melting furnaces and combustion analysis technologies based on numerical simulation.
Having conducted a combustion analysis of the gasification furnace’s interior environment and optimized methods for facilitating air and exhaust gas circulation, we succeeded in curbing NOx generation solely via combustion adjustments at a low excess air ratio.
Development Background
In the course of developing the gasification combustion furnace, verification testing was carried out using actual equipment.
While upgrading the furnace design using such tools as numerical simulations, we optimized waste feeding methods and embarked on long-term technological verification. The simulation results were compared with findings from exhaust gas measurements using actual equipment to improve the computation model and enhance its accuracy.
Stoker-Type Incinerator
A stoker-type incinerator consists of a cylindrically shaped furnace with boiler water pipes constituting the walls and boasts the following features.
①Furnace walls free of fire-resistant materials boast longer durability
- Because the furnace walls are free of refractories, the clinker that forms does not cause attrition to the equipment.
- Furnace walls are consistently cooled by high-temperature boiler water, helping avoid the development of corrosive temperature areas.
②A highly efficient gas mix supports combustion within the cylindrically shaped furnace at a low excess air ratio
- In addition to maintaining the slow combustion characteristic of a stoker-type incinerator, enclosing the combustion space with cylindrical walls helps facilitate optimal mixing and reduces the need for excess air.
Development Background
Fundamental technologies for stoker-type incinerators were established more than 40 years ago. Since then, incinerators of this type have been used at home and abroad to incinerate municipal solid waste and industrial waste. Although the technology itself boasts long history and our business activities in this field largely reflect customer confidence in our track record, we constantly strive to deliver up-to-date, optimal solutions based on the verification of actual facility operations and new technology development.
Previously, incinerator technologies could be verified only through practical demonstration tests; however, the introduction of latest simulation technologies allows for the virtual analysis of combustion, thermal hydraulics and structural factors at stages ranging from design through development, helping us to accelerate development.