ARUSHA TECHNICAL COLLEGE

JUNCTION OF MOSHI-ARUSHA AND NAIROBI ROADS

P.O. BOX 296, ARUSHA-TANZANIA

TELEPHONE: +255-27-2503040/2502076, FAX: +255-27-2548337

WEBSITE: http://www.atc.ac.tz, E-MAIL: [email protected]

CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

HIGHER DIPLOMA IN CIVIL AND IRRIGATION ENGINEERING

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ASSIGNMENT – 2022/2023

RESEARCH TITLE: DESIGN OF INCINERATOR.

MODULE NAME: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

MODULE CODE : GSU 07402
STUDENT NAME: EMMANUEL C NAMKUMBE
ADMISSION No : 21020413009
NTA LEVEL : 7-2

INSTRUCTOR : DR NAISUJAKI
SUB DATE: 12/06/2023
Table of Contents
DECLARATION...............................................................................................................4

DEDICATION...................................................................................................................5

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT................................................................................................6

ABSTRACT........................................................................................................................7

CHAPTER ONE................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................8

1.1 RESEARCH BACKGROUND..................................................................................8

1.1.1 Nature of the Research........................................................................................8

1.1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT.................................................................................9

1.1.3 MAIN OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH..............................................................9

1.1.4 SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH...............................................9

1.1.5 SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH............................................................................9

CHAPTER TWO.............................................................................................................10

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW........................................................................................10

2.1 TYPES OF INCINERATORS.................................................................................10

2.1.1 Auto-combustion incinerators...........................................................................10

2.1.2 Fuel-assisted incinerators..................................................................................11

2.2 Functions of Incineration.........................................................................................12

2.3 practices for small-scale incineration.......................................................................13

2.4 Incinerator Performance...........................................................................................13

2.5 Selecting an Appropriate Incinerator.......................................................................14

Installation of incinerator...............................................................................................14

2.6.1Site Selection of incinerator...............................................................................14

2
 2.6.2 Protective Enclosure of incinerator...................................................................14

2.6.3 Ash Pit...............................................................................................................15

2.7 Starting and Operating the /Charcoal/Wood Fuelled incinerator.............................15

CHAPTER THREE.........................................................................................................17

3.0 METHODOLOGY...................................................................................................17

3.1 Summary of Methodology.......................................................................................17

3.2 DESIGN PROCEDURE OF THE INCINERATOR...............................................17

3.3 Required material to complete construction of incinerator......................................18

CHAPTER FOUR...........................................................................................................20

CONCLUSION................................................................................................................20

RECCOMENDATION....................................................................................................20

 Maintenance of incinerator should be followed regularly to avoid poor

performance of an incinerator........................................................................................20

REFERENCES..................................................................................................................21

3
DECLARATION
I declare that to the best of my knowledge and belief, this research is my own original
work and has no presented to any other college for a similar or to any other Diploma
award. It is a result of my own initiatives survey, technical knowledge and consultation
from experienced people of engineering.

Name: EMMANUEL C NAMKUMBE

Signature……………………

Date: ……………………….

4
DEDICATION
I would like to dedicate this research first to God for giving me good health and power
for the whole time of selecting title, collecting data and analyzing it up to writing this
project. To my family for their supports and encouragement. Also, I dedicate this
research to the Hostel Students for their contribution. Another Dedication is to my friends
who contribute their advice about the research.

5
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my profound sense of deepest gratitude to the Civil Engineering
Department, for his valuable guidance, sympathy and co-operation for providing
necessary facilities and sources during the entire period of this research.

I wish to convey my sincere gratitude to all the facilities of Civil Engineering

Department who have enlightened me during my studies. The facilities and co-operation
received from the technical staff of Civil Engineering Department is thankfully
acknowledged.

I express my thanks to all those who helped me one way or other.

Last, but not the least, I would like to thank the authors of various research articles and
books that I referred to.

6
ABSTRACT
Incinerators are a sustainable method for dealing with waste. As global opposition to
incineration continues to grow, innovative philosophies and practices for sustainable
management of installation of incinerator are being developed and adopted around the
world.

This project is concerned with Design of incinerator for proposed project of Design of
incinerator at Arusha Technical College (ATC). This research gives in brief, the design
procedure of incinerator, which will help to disposal waste safe and completely at A.T.C.

7
CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION
Incineration is the process of burning hazardous materials to destroy harmful
chemicals.
Incineration also reduces the amount of material that must be disposed of in a
landfill. This project intended to design ATC incinerator.

An incinerator is a type of furnace. It burns material, such as polluted soil, at a

controlled temperature, which is high enough to destroy the harmful material. An
incinerator can be brought at ATC for cleanup or the material can be trucked from
the site to an incinerator. The material is placed in the incinerator where it is heated.
To increase the amount of harmful material destroyed, workers control the amount of
heat and air in the incinerator.

1.1 RESEARCH BACKGROUND

It has been observed that the college has been grown because at previous the number of
intake and staff members was around five hundred but now the number of intake and
staff members are around one thousand and four hundred so waste material around the
college increased compare to previous and available incinerator cannot satisfy the need of
disposal waste material, this has happen due to fail in design, so there must be
improvement of available incinerator because Incineration can destroy some types of
waste material that other methods can’t. It is also quicker than many other methods. This
is important when a college must be cleaned up quickly to prevent harm to people or the
environment. at- college incineration can reduce the amount of material that must be
moved to a landfill.

1.1.1 Nature of the Research.

An improvement of incinerator is for keeping environments around the college clean and
more presentable to the visitors.

8
1.1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT
Due to the problem of having incinerator which can not satisfy the need of the college it
led to the incomplete destruction of waste.

1.1.3 MAIN OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH

Providing engineering design of the incinerator, which will improve the available
incinerator at ATC, In order to ensure effective waste reduction and waste segregation.

1.1.4 SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH

 Ensure effective waste reduction and waste segregation.
 Ensuring that combustion conditions are appropriate (residence time and
temperatures that minimize incomplete combustion).
 Proper ash disposal, record keeping to track quantities of waste destroyed and
occupational safety.

1.1.5 SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH

This research will be limited in improving the available incinerator by providing
engineering design of the incinerator, which will be available at ATC only.

9
CHAPTER TWO

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

During literature review the various method of study will be used such as using books of
design, from internet and reference from existing incinerators which function.

Incineration is the process of burning hazardous materials to destroy harmful chemicals.

Incineration also reduces the amount of material that must be disposed of in a landfill.
Although it destroys a range of chemicals, such as solvents, and pesticides, incineration
does not destroy metals.
Incineration can destroy some types of chemicals that other methods can’t such as
dumping method. It is also quicker than many other methods. This is important when a
environment must be cleaned up quickly to prevent harm to people. On-environment
incineration can reduce the amount of material that must be moved to a landfill.
The time it takes for incineration to clean up a college depends on several factors:

 size and depth of the polluted area

 types and amounts of chemicals present
 whether or not the waste must be trucked to the incinerator larger incinerators
can clean up several hundred tons of waste each day.

2.1 TYPES OF INCINERATORS ARE;

1. Auto combustion incinerator
2. Fuel assisted incinerator

2.1.1 Auto-combustion incinerators

In an auto-combustion system, the incinerator is preheated using dry wood and/or other
agricultural residues (e.g., coconut shells, charcoal, etc.). At some point, the waste itself
generates the heat for continued combustion during the waste disposal process. Auto-
combustion incinerators are substantially cheaper to operate than fuel-assisted
incinerators, however auto-combustion incinerators are not suited to destroy placenta or
anatomic waste unless anatomic waste is interspersed with safety boxes, dry wood, or
charcoal in a ratio of 1 kilogram of anatomic waste to 3 kilograms or more of plastic,
wood or charcoal. Auto combustion incinerators are able to destroy non-sharps infectious
waste if the ratio by weight of safety boxes, wood, or charcoal to non-sharps waste is 2:1
or greater. In consideration of the amount of plastic waste generated by injections, it is
important that incinerator technologies which can destroy 50 to 100 percent plastic in the
waste load without causing damage to the refractory materials are selected. It is important
that metalwork in the incinerator is stainless steel or cast iron if incinerator equipment is
expected to be operational for more than three years without replacement.

10
Figure 1standard components of a small-scale incinerator

2.1.2 Fuel-assisted incinerators

Fuel-assisted incinerators require a fossil fuel (diesel or gas) and a continuous electrical
power supply to operate. Fuel-assisted incinerators are sometimes prone to damage if an
electrical power failure occurs during operation. The better-designed fuel-assisted
incinerators control the fuel supply in order to maintain constant combustion
temperatures and to economize on fuel consumption. Fuel is injected into both the
primary and secondary chambers, along with auxiliary air through blowers. Most fuel-
assisted incinerators with a capacity to destroy 100 to 150 kilograms of waste per day
consume 5 to 8 liters per hour of fuel (4 to 6.5 kilograms of gas). It is important to note
that some fuel-assisted incinerators cannot destroy more than 15 to 25 percent of plastic
per load because of the high caloric value of plastics and the damage that can be caused
to the refractory lining.

i. Temperature
An incinerator should operate in the temperature range of 800° to 1200°C when medical
waste is incinerated. Toxic fumes including furans and dioxins are emitted at
temperatures below 600°C if polyvinyl chloride or certain other materials are incinerated.

11
 ii. Residence time
The gas-residence period should not be less than one second. The gas residence period is
the
amount of time that the gases take to travel through the incinerator. The gases should
travel through the incinerator as slowly as possible, a process that greatly reduces the
toxicity of the fumes emitted.

iii. Fuel to waste ratio

In principle, all products containing enough carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen will burn well
as long as there is a low water (moisture) content. The different heating values of
products found in health care waste can be expressed in British thermal units per
kilogram (btu/kg).
Some types of waste have enough heat value to support their own combustion (auto
combustion), and additional fuel such as wood or kerosene is only necessary for the
initial ignition. The heat value of other types of waste will be too low for auto-
combustion and will require additional fuel in order to maintain combustion (fuel-
assisted.) The composition of the waste to be destroyed must be considered when
selecting an incinerator.

iv. Lifecycle
An incinerator should be corrosion resistant. An auto-combustion system should have a
5-year lifecycle; a fuel-assisted system should have a 10-year lifecycle. The stack height
of an incinerator must be superior to 4 meters so that the stack emissions are not in
contact with operators or others in the immediate proximity. Any incinerator selected
should be
purchased complete with sufficient consumable parts (i.e., fuel filters, burner nozzles,
etc.) and replacement parts (i.e., grates, refractory liners, temperatures sensors, etc.) to
ensure operation of the incinerator for its planned life cycle.

2.2 Functions of Incineration

Proper incineration can convert certain wastes into gases and incombustible solid
residues (e.g., ash) that are relatively harmless. A dual-chamber incinerator operated
within the optimal temperature range of 650° to 1,000°C results in a lower level of
emissions. The gases from incineration are released into the atmosphere (with or without
gas cleaning). Residue ash from proper incineration can be encapsulated in designated
ash pits or controlled landfills without any major risk. However, when the conditions are
not adequate—for example, when the waste is not properly segregated or the incinerator
is not properly constructed or operated—toxic compounds can be found in the unburned
waste, and harmful gases can be released into the atmosphere. Good planning, technical
oversight, and sustained supportive supervision of incinerator systems are critical to
ensuring safe incineration.

12
2.3 practices for small-scale incineration
 Effective waste reduction and waste segregation.
 Installation of an engineered design, ensuring that combustion conditions
are appropriate (residence time and temperatures that minimize
incomplete combustion).
 Construction adherence to detailed dimensional plans to avoid common
flaws that cause incomplete destruction of waste, higher emissions, and
premature failures of the incinerator.
 Training of incinerator operators on appropriate start-up and cool-down
procedures, maintenance of optimal operating temperatures, visible
emission monitoring, appropriate loading/charging rates, proper ash
disposal, recordkeeping to track quantities of waste destroyed and
auxiliary fuel used, and occupational safety.
 Periodic maintenance to replace or repair defective components (e.g.,
inspection and spare parts inventory).
 Placement of incinerators away from populated areas or where food is
grown.
 Enhanced training and management (possibly promoted by certification
and inspection programs for operators); the availability of an operating
and maintenance manual, management oversight, and maintenance
programs.

2.4 Incinerator Performance

The composition of the waste to be destroyed as well as the design of the incinerator
must be considered when selecting the appropriate incinerator type. For low-income
countries it is often necessary that incinerator designs are selected which support auto-
combustion in order to reduce the operational costs. Some wastes are not suitable at all
for incineration (such as highly explosive and/or radioactive materials).Good combustion
requires the right combination of carbon and oxygen. The important factors of oxygen
supply in an incinerator design are:
 Air inlets must be the right size and in the correct location to allow a good
mixture of air (oxygen) with the waste (gasses).
 Chimney diameter and length must be carefully designed (not too short
and not too long) in order to control draught.
 Incinerator itself should be located away from obstacles like buildings
and trees.
 Ashes and other residues that block the free passage of air (oxygen) must
be removed routinely. An incinerator, when operated, should have low or
zero visible emissions and should not emit solid particulate matter from
the stack.

13
2.5 Selecting an Appropriate Incinerator
The following are key steps to follow when selecting the appropriate incinerator at ATC
1. Determine your health system needs for human care waste treatment and disposal
solutions.
2. Assess the infrastructure of the area.
3. Determine availability of local resources to support construction and operation.
4. Assess policy environment.
5. Develop cost estimates.
6. Identify lead candidate incinerator designs and determine which units to procure.

Installation of incinerator

2.6.1Site Selection of incinerator

Incinerators should never be installed in areas where crops are grown; particles from the
smoke emitted by the incinerators can settle on crops, making them highly toxic. If for
whatever reason incinerators have been installed near cultivated land, the incinerator
should be operated only when the wind is blowing away from the crops.

The selection of an appropriate location to install an incinerator is of paramount

importance. Key factors to be taken into consideration are:

 The location should be at least 30 meters away from the closest occupied or
inhabited building.
 The prevailing winds at the location should blow in a direction away from
occupied buildings.
 There should be no regular public passage within immediate proximity of the
incinerator.
 There should be no horticulture or leaf crops within 300 meters of the incinerator
in the direction of the prevailing winds.
 The bottom of the ash pit should be above the maximum level of the water table.
 The location should be secure and free from risk of vandalism or theft.

2.6.2 Protective Enclosure of incinerator

Incinerators should be installed in a protective enclosure or suitably ventilated building to
prevent access by unauthorized persons and to protect the incineration equipment. A
protective enclosure or building should ensure that:

 The incinerator and other materials stored inside are protected from rain and UV
radiation from direct sunlight.

14
  The incinerator is well ventilated and the stack emissions are clear of the building
or enclosure so that the operator is not exposed to fumes when the incinerator is in
use.
 The enclosure is robust and corrosion resistant, and its design-life is at least
equivalent to the expected life of the incinerator.
 The enclosure or building can be securely locked against unauthorized entry.
 There is space within the enclosure to store the operator’s protective clothing,
tools, and equipment required to operate the system. There should also be
sufficient space to conveniently store waste to be destroyed, as well as load and
operate the incinerator.
 There is provision for an emergency exit should there be a fire or other emergency
at the facility.
 There is storage space for solid fuels or a storage reservoir for fuel. This is best
located within the incinerator enclosure to ensure adequate security.
 The enclosure has a provision for waste to be deposited without allowing the
waste handle, to enter the enclosure or building.

2.6.3 Ash Pit

All waste material sites using incineration should be equipped with an ash pit that has
sufficient capacity to store ash for a period of at least 5 years. Essential features of a pit
are:

 The pit is positioned above any shallow aquifer.

 The pit is positioned to prevent risk of flooding.
 The pit is constructed brick, with a water-resistant floor to ensure the pit
will not collapse.
 The pit has provision to deposit ash or other authorized wastes, without a
risk to the waste handler.
 There is provisional access to the pit for purposes of leveling or removal
of accumulated waste and subsequent transfer to a municipal landfill.
 The pit is protected from access by unauthorized persons.
 The pit is in the immediate proximity of the incinerator to ensure
convenient transfer of ash.

2.7 Starting and Operating the /Charcoal/Wood Fuelled incinerator

 Open the loading door and ash door and remove any ash or other materials from
the fire box, ensuring that the grate is clean and the entrance to the flue is not
blocked.

15
 Before lighting the incinerator, prepare the charcoal or fire wood, ensuring that it
is dry and chopped or cut into short not more than 75 mm (3”) in section.
 Light the paper through the ash door and NOT through the loading door. (This
prevents the operator being burnt if paper and kindling material flare up
unexpectedly).
 Once the fire is established and burning well, start adding the fire wood in small
amounts.
 The loading door can be closed after about 5 minutes from lighting and once the
fire is being drawn from the primary combustion chamber into the secondary
chamber and up the stack.
 The ash door can be closed once the fire is well established. A well-established
fire will roar and will be audible through the air inlet tubes. Practice will enable
the operator to judge when the fire is established.
 Fire wood and/or dry waste is added at intervals until the incinerator is operating
at the right temperature. The operating temperature will be achieved between half
and one hour from 24lighting, depending on the ambient temperature, moisture
content of the wood and the type of wood being used (i.e. hard, soft etc.)
 Once up to operating temperature, start to add the general waste material on
small batches at regular intervals. The level of material in the incinerator should
be such that the incinerator is always above half full.
 If the waste is predominately unwanted drugs, straw or wood may be placed in
the incinerator before the drugs to hold the boxes in position for a longer period in
order to prevent pills falling through the incinerator without burning.
 Sharps, including hypodermics, should be mixed with other waste to prevent
them falling through the incinerator without being destroyed.
 If the waste material has a high moisture content or has a low fuel value, wood
can be added to help maintain the correct operating temperature.
 The grate and flue entry should be checked every 15 minutes and raked clear of
any obstruction. This is to ensure that the airways are kept clear.
 At the end of the operating session and all the waste has been placed in the
incinerator, add more wood to ensure that any waste residue has been completely
burned.

16
CHAPTER THREE

3.0 METHODOLOGY
Methodology is the task of studying data from the similar incinerators and using internet,
various books and exist report, so as to make the comparison and lastly obtain the best
solution for the proposed improvement of incineration.

3.1 Summary of Methodology

Reconnaissance study of the area to determine existing conditions. This involved
taking photos of the available incinerator
Literature reviews using the internet, various books and existing reports on
similar projects, incinerator design manuals.
Obtaining amount of waste to be disposal per day around ATC.

Questionnaires: -
The following questions were proposed in order to obtain the information concerning
with my project, the questions were as follows:

 Historical background of the incinerator.

 The class and type of the required incinerator (This includes the dimensions of the
incinerator)
 The data of waste disposal per day surrounding area.
 The data for the design’s requirements of incinerator (this involves design tables
and other necessary data).

3.2 DESIGN PROCEDURE OF THE INCINERATOR

 Foundation design of incinerator. The foundation is the first part made on
the ground. It should be made with normal cement aggregate casted on a
75mm foundation trench. The size should be 225mm slightly larger than
the incinerator outer wall body all round with a thickness of 150mm
(6inches). A standard concrete mix (3:2:1) aggregate of sand, cement and
stones can be used.
 The body of the incinerator should be put in place starting with the inner
wall, using the fire bricks arranged in line into a three by six bricks
matrixes without spacing for mortar. This arrangement can be built up to
five layers making openings for the position of top loading door access,
ash removal door and chimney channels. The outer wall was erected with

17
 ordinary building bricks, held in place with cement mortar leaving 5-
inches (125mm) air spacing all round the inner wall.
 The thickness of the fire bricks and that of the outer wall ordinary building
bricks, together with the air spacing sufficiently provides resistance to heat
loss from the incinerator during operation.
 The incinerator top can be made of 2.5mm steel sheet Prefabricated in a
metal workshop, which had openings for the loading door and stack
(chimney). It was put in place as an incinerator top covering leaving
opening for top-loading door together with a spigot for the flue stack
(chimney).
 The stack should be fitted over the top of the incinerator and clamped in
position by an angle iron frame and angle iron strips fitted to the outer
wall.

 The loading door, made from angle iron and small piece of sheet metal,
was fitted with a doorframe welded to the top plate. Also welded to the top
plate can be a number of lengths of angle iron that helped to hold down
the top plate and form a box around the stack opening.
 Air supply channels should be pre-fabricated in the metal workshop from
50mm square pipes cut in lengths of 150mm. This can be welded on top of
the 220 by 228mm square main frame of the ash door. The air inlet cross-
sectional area was designed and measured to be approximately 8200mm
square.

3.3 Required material to complete construction of incinerator

 Fire bricks 230 x 116 x 76mm
 Standard building bricks 230 x 116 x 76mm
 3Cement
 4Gravel/Granite Stones Head Pan
 Sand 200kg (approximate) 8 Head pan
 Fire cement (1300oC +)
 U section (mild steel) 75 x 50 x 3mm meters
 Rectangular section (mild steel) 75 x 40 x 3mm wall thickness
 Angle section (mild steel) 50 x 50 x 3mm thick meters
 Water tube (mild steel) 12mm inside diameter meters
 Flat sheet (mild steel) 2400 x 1200 x 2mm
 Flat sheet (mild steel) 2400 x 1200 x 1.2mm
 Washers 8mm diameter
 Screws No. 8 x 50mm long
 Welding rods Mild steel

18
 Nuts 8mm
 Washers 10mm diameter
4.2THE PROPOSED INCINERATOR SHOULD BE

19
CHAPTER FOUR

CONCLUSION
I conclude that, in spite of all of the above, incinerator still crucial in our college, that the
improved incinerator has to disposal waste easily and to keep the environment safe.

When the proposed research is implemented, it will upgrade the value of the college and
solve the problem of waste disposal around Arusha Technical College (A.T.C).

RECCOMENDATION
I suggest that the incinerator should be big enough to disposal waste effectively,
according to the information obtained from four chapters about site analysis, space
utilization, and potentials the following are the design recommendations:
 There should be the enough space in the incinerator to support disposal of waste.
 Ashpit should be good enough to support combustion.
 Maintenance of incinerator should be followed regularly to avoid poor performance
of an incinerator.

 Incinerators should never be installed in areas where crops are grown, particles from
the smoke emitted by the incinerators can settle on crops, making them highly toxic.

20
REFERENCES

• Technology Innovation Office at: U.S. EPA

• CSA Standard CAN/CSA-Z195-M92: Protective Footwear

• ANSI Standard Z41-1991: American National Standard for Personal Protection,

Protective Footwear

• AS/NZS 2210.1: Occupational Protective Footwear, Guide to selection, care, and

use

• British Safety Institution Standard BS EN 345: 1993

• British Safety Institution Standard BS EN 346: 1993

• Davies, Terry, and Lowe, Adam, Environmental Implications of the Health Care
Service Sector,” Resources for the Future,

• Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and

Other Matter, 1972.

Internet

• http//www.cluin.org

• http://www.pge.com/pec

• http://en.wikipedia.org

• www.oydepo.com

• http://www.path.org

• http://www.moldex.com

• https://www.inive.org

21
22