Kenji Yasuda* and Michimasa Takahashi*

* Environmental Research Center of Kanagawa Prefecture

+ Correspondence should be addressed to Kenji Yasuda:
(842 Nakaharashimojuku, Hiratsuka 254 Japan)

Abstract

Emissions of N2O from 4 municipal solid waste incinerators were analyzed. The results showed that N2O concentrations tended to be in reverse correlation to the furnace temperature. At low temperatures during start-up and burn-out, the emission rates of N2O were high. When CO concentrations in exhaust gas were high, there was a positive correlation between the concentrations of CO and N2O. It was also confirmed that NOX concentrations have a negative correlation with N2O concentrations at high furnace temperatures. This suggests that gas phase reactions may play a major role in N2O formation with regard to municipal solid waste incinerators. The total emission of N2O from municipal solid waste incinerators in 1990 is estimated to be 2.0-6.8 Gg a year. These emissions correspond to about 2 times that of sewage sludge incinerators.

Key words: nitrous oxide, emission behavior, formation, emission, municipal solid waste incineration