Assessment of smouldering as an efficient and low-cost alternative for management of agricultural solid wastes

Smouldering combustion has emerged as an alternative treatment option for organic solid wastes with high moisture contents (80-85% wt).

The key advantage of smouldering technology is that stable process performance can be achieved at very high moisture content without the need for external fuel and/or energy input. This key feature allows for treatment of problematic wastes such as paunch solids where alternate treatment methods (e.g. anaerobic digestion) are currently not economically attractive.