Incinerators operate at high temperatures which are necessary for the complete burn-out of organic content. After incineration, flue gases must be cooled prior to treatment by an air pollution control device (if present).

For large capacity incinerators operating for at least 12 hours in a day, heat recovery may be feasible. Different forms of heat recovery are:

1) Hot air heat exchangers.

2) Hot water heat

3) Waste heat recovery boilers.

The capacity and size of these heat recovery systems vary. Heat exchangers could also be used as part of the overall incineration process as a method of gas cooling or otherwise.

The photo below is of 2 paint stripping chambers which were coupled to a hazardous waste incinerator. The waste heat from the secondary chamber was used to strip paint from jigs and fixtures.