Factors influencing spontaneous combustion of solid waste

    Authors

    S. Moqbel; D. Reinhart;R. H. Chen

    Comments

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    Abbreviated Journal Title

    Waste Manage.

    Keywords

    SPONTANEOUS IGNITION; COAL; MOISTURE; FIRES; SIZE; AIR; Engineering, Environmental; Environmental Sciences

    Abstract

    Landfill fires create a critical problem for landfill operators and require investigation of its occurrence and the conditions that favor its initiation. Subsurface fires are considered the most significant due to the difficulty in determining their location and extent. These fires are mainly caused by spontaneous combustion, combustion due to high temperature in absence of flame. This study investigates the effect of moisture content, oxygen concentration and leachate components on spontaneous ignition, combustion initiation, and self-heating of solid waste. A new procedure for testing spontaneous ignition is described; however, variations in solid waste components and landfill conditions can create some limitations to its use. The presence of water and dissolved solids in leachate was found to accelerate chemical self-heating of the solid waste. Oxygen concentration at 10% by volume can sustain chemical oxidation but did not promote accelerated burning. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

    Journal Title

    Waste Management

    Volume

    30

    Issue/Number

    8-9

    Publication Date

    1-1-2010

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    1600

    Last Page

    1607

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000279493100021

    ISSN

    0956-053X

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