Numerical simulation of co-incineration of sewage sludge and municipal solid waste in municipal solid waste incinerator

Incineration is widely used as an important method of sludge and garbage utilization and harmless treatment. The simulations of co-incineration of sludge and municipal solid waste are conducted by computational fluid dynamics method(CFD) in a MSW incinerator. The study focuses on the effect of mixing proportion, moisture content of sludge, excess air coefficient and primary and secondary air distribution ratio on the combustion progress. Simulation results indicate that the combustion temperature of furnace decreases rapidly with the increase of the mixing proportion and moisture content of sludge, which is mainly because the moisture content of sludge is higher than that of MSW as well as its low calorific value. As a result, it is recommended that the water content and mixing ratio of sludge would be controlled below 40% and 7% respectively. Therefore, the fresh sludge should be dried before entering the furnace.