Over the years, it has been our experience that the operator of the incinerator needs regular and tailor-made training to enable effective incinerator operation and performance. It is not enough if he is given some initial training alone, it has to be continuous at least during the warranty period, to make him fully familiar with the system so that he becomes confident in running the incinerator without any help. He should be made aware of safety issues and proper maintenance of the equipment.

No doubt, as the saying goes, it will be better if the system is `idiot-proof`! It is easier said than done. The operators in general are not highly educated or skilled technicians.

In this background, we give below some of the causes and effects of insufficient operator training:

1.      The manual waste charging of a non-automatic incinerator designed for continuous feeding has to be “little and often”, meaning a charge of not more than 25% of the rated capacity every 15 minutes. In one instance the operator tried to save some time and charged 100% in one go. This could block the path of the burner flame, creating high skin temperature on the burner side of the machine, which is dangerous to the operator.

2.      Similarly in another instance, the loaded incinerator burner was completely switched off during the operator’s lunch break resulting in back flow of fire causing complete damage to the burner.

3.      Again at the end of the shift, the burners are switched off without following the cooling cycle. This gives a serious thermal shock to the refractory which will get damaged.

4.      When the scrubber bleed becomes thick with pollutants and if it is not replaced with fresh water, the polluted water can damage parts like the venturi, pump, etc.

5.      If waste is not packed properly for charging thru the loader, part of the burning waste comes out of the chamber sticking to the door, which could cause serious safety issues.

6.      The mist eliminator needs regular cleaning because carbon particulates could choke the flue gas from going further up resulting in backfire.

7.      Waste not meant for incineration or being loaded into an incinerator not meant to handle such waste produces heavy smoke and leakage through various openings.

8.      Regular cleaning of the filters in the diesel line and burners is required without which the flow of fuel is affected resulting in burner lock out and backfire.

9.      Incinerators which operate automatically thru a PLC system should have a back-up UPS for the PLC, without which the possibility of the programme getting corrupted exists.

10.   Temperature and pH monitoring are vital for safety of the equipment and long life of expensive parts.

11.   It will be good to check the condition of the refractory from time to time and repair damaged portions which would prevent large scale relining work.

12.   The condition of paint has to be checked at least once a year and where required, repainting has to be done to prevent rusting of the machine.

13.   Fans, scrubber, burners, control panel, chimney and duct, diesel tank have to be subjected to regular maintenance checks and repairs carried out to avoid any major work or replacement.

Successful organisations devote a good amount of time in training their staff and workers. This enhances the knowledge and skill of the people, at the same time providing them safety and good performance and life for the incinerator equipment.