Masato Hosaka*, Jiro Suzuki* and Mari Miyata**

*Living Systems ResearchCenter, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.,
**Electrotechnology Applications R & D Center, Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc.
(3-1-1, Yakumo, Nakamachi, Moriguchi-city, Osaka 570 Japan)

Abstract

Disposal of waste material, especially medical waste, has become a more serious problem in modern society because of its poor combustibility and unsanitary nature. In order to solve this problem, a compact and odorless incinerator has been developed. It furnishes an innovative solution to the problem bydisposing of waste materials at the site of its generation.

In this incinerator, waste material is decomposed into gas by means of microwave energy. Catalyst combustion and flame combustion are used in the burning process because of the wide range of gas concentrations generated by thermal decomposition. The activated temperature of this catalyst corresponds approximately to the temperature of the thermal decomposition. Therefore, in order to purify the generated gases completely, it is necessary to heat the catalyst to the same temperature as the thermal decomposition in order to keep the generated gases in the gaseous phase. In this way, a sample waste incinerator has resulted in minimal emission of harmful materials.

Key words: waste incinerator, thermal decomposition, catalyst, combustion, activated temperature