Thermal Twin 4.0: Digital Support Tool for Optimizing Hazardous Waste Rotary Kiln Incineration Plants

The present paper focuses on developing a novel virtual representation framework for optimizing standalone hazardous waste rotary kiln incineration plants. A digital support tool can be provided to optimize the plant's waste management, operation, and maintenance by combining thermochemical-based simulation models with a fuel classification system. First of all, the virtual representation can be used to determine the waste composition of not entirely analyzed waste streams. Furthermore, the determined waste compositions of historically fed waste streams can be used to enable further advanced applications. The determined waste compositions are linked with the appropriate waste code and supplier, which first enables the monitoring of the delivered waste streams. In the case of recurring fractions, the virtual representation can be used to optimize the barrel sequence to reach homogenous waste inputs. Additionally, the plant operation can be optimized regarding stable operation conditions due to the knowledge about waste compositions of recurring fractions. The parametrization results fit very well with the comparable sensor values. Therefore, the novel virtual representation of the hazardous waste incineration plant could definitely make a reasonable contribution to optimize the efficiency of thermal waste treatment within the hazardous waste sector in Austria and Europe. Graphical Abstract