Mineral additives and a method for operating a waste-to-energy furnace are provided in order to improve its operational performance and availability, increase the lifetime of the combustor building materials (refractory walls and heat-exchanger metallic tubes) and flue gas treatment equipment, improve ash quality, reduce emissions and avoid combustion problems such as agglomeration, slagging, deposition, and corrosion. A method for operating a waste-to-energy furnace, such as a fluidized bed reactor, pulverized-fuel combustor, grate combustor includes introducing mineral additive into the furnace. The method further includes heating at least a portion of the mineral additive either intimately in contact with the fuel, such that the ability of mineral additive to induce crystallization of the surface of forming ashes is enhanced, or minimizing the contact of the mineral additive with the fuel and the forming ashes, such that the solid-gas reactions between the mineral additive and the volatile compounds in the flue gas are favored and the mineral additive power to capture at least a portion of the inorganic volatile compounds present in the furnace is enhanced.

Mineral additives and a method for operating a waste-to-energy furnace are provided in order to improve its operational performance and availability, increase the lifetime of the combustor building materials (refractory walls and heat-exchanger metallic tubes) and flue gas treatment equipment, improve ash quality, reduce emissions and avoid combustion problems such as agglomeration, slagging, deposition, and corrosion. A method for operating a waste-to-energy furnace, such as a fluidized bed reactor, pulverized-fuel combustor, grate combustor includes introducing mineral additive into the furnace. The method further includes heating at least a portion of the mineral additive either intimately in contact with the fuel, such that the ability of mineral additive to induce crystallization of the surface of forming ashes is enhanced, or minimizing the contact of the mineral additive with the fuel and the forming ashes, such that the solid-gas reactions between the mineral additive and the volatile compounds in the flue gas are favored and the mineral additive power to capture at least a portion of the inorganic volatile compounds present in the furnace is enhanced.

A method of treating fecal waste according to an example of the present disclosure includes bringing a reactor containing fecal matter to a first temperature and a first pressure, exposing the reactor to an environment with a second temperature and a second pressure such that the water in the fecal waste undergoes flash evaporation, and pyrolizing the fecal waste. A fecal waste processing unit is also disclosed.

A method of treating fecal waste according to an example of the present disclosure includes bringing a reactor containing fecal matter to a first temperature and a first pressure, exposing the reactor to an environment with a second temperature and a second pressure such that the water in the fecal waste undergoes flash evaporation, and pyrolizing the fecal waste. A fecal waste processing unit is also disclosed.

A method and system of processing animal waste is disclosed. In a particular embodiment, the method includes transferring animal waste to a gasifier to burn the animal waste, circulating water through a heat exchanger in a flue stack of the gasifier to generate heated water, and pumping the heated water to either an organic Rankine cycle system to generate electricity, a radiant heater, or any combination thereof. In addition, the method includes circulating the heated water through an evaporator of the organic Rankine cycle system to vaporize a refrigerant, and circulating the vaporized refrigerant from the evaporator, through a turbine to generate the electricity. Also, the method includes using a manure spreader to feed the animal waste to the gasifier at a varying feed rate that is based on contemporaneously calculating a British thermal units (BTU) of the animal waste being fed to the gasifier.

Apparatus including a receptacle for holding therein organic waste, a first dispenser operative to dispense an oxidizing agent to the organic waste so as to cause an exothermic reaction that results in combustion of the organic waste, and a second dispenser operative to dispense a reducing agent that neutralizes a residual amount of the oxidizing agent that remains after the exothermic reaction.