Reduction of the Environmental Impact While Improving the Economic Benefits: A Win-Win Situation in Industrial Waste Incineration through Optimized Treatment Schedules

A mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) methodology has been introduced, to schedule the liquid waste incineration on a short-term basis. The model is based on a discrete-time formulation with a single uniform grid. The considered system includes waste incinerators, combustion lances, a complex piping network, several storage tanks, unloading pumps, tank wagons and many different waste streams. The objective is to reduce the natural gas consumption.

As the introduced methodology considers on one hand the incineration process itself and on the other logistical issues related to waste transfer, storage and mixing, it is the ideal tool to support daily decision-making processes in the waste incineration management. Test in industry indicate that optimized incineration schedules can reduce the natural gas consumption significantly. Not only has this reduction a favorable impact on process costs but also on the system sustainability, since the overall CO₂ emissions per ton of waste treated are decreased.