Numerical investigation of flow behavior and reaction characteristics in a liquid waste incinerator

Abstract

Chemical manufacturing processes generate substantial quantities of hazardous organic waste liquids and incineration serves as an effective method for treating such waste streams. To elucidate the operational characteristics of waste liquid incinerators, numerical simulations of incinerators was conducted for obtaining data which were hard measured by experiments. A DPM approach is utilized to capture the flow and reaction characteristics and the influence of key parameters, including atomized droplet diameter, atomization velocity, and spray angle, on combustion completeness, temperature distribution, and concentration distribution, etc. were analyzed. The results demonstrate that the droplet diameter significantly affects the trajectory within the furnace. Larger droplets possess greater inertia, traverse a wider spatial range, and exhibit a higher probability of wall impingement. Furthermore, larger droplets facilitate a broader spatial distribution of the waste liquid, contributing to a more uniform temperature field. Increase of spray angle enhance the mixing between droplets and air which leads to improved uniformity in the concentration field. Elevating the atomization velocity promotes the formation of a more well-defined conical droplet distribution; however, it concurrently increases the likelihood of droplets impinging on the furnace bottom and side walls. These three key parameters are highly interrelated, necessitating coordinated consideration during parameter optimization.