Dewatered Sludge is fed to one of SBRSA’s two multiple hearth incinerators at a feed rate of approximately 6 tons of sludge cake per hour. The incinerator reduces the volume of sludge cake to approximately 10% of its initial volume. The incinerator exhaust gases pass through a two-stage wet scrubber system and a wet electrostatic precipitator (WESP) to remove particulates, followed by a regenerative thermal oxidizer (RTO) to burn off any remaining hydrocarbons and contaminates. The outlet gas has a residence time of approximately 10 seconds in the process chamber of the RTO at approximately 1600°F. At this temperature all odor compounds have been volatilized. The incinerator and RTO utilize natural gas as auxiliary fuel (The sludge cake is dried until ignition point is reached. It then becomes the primary fuel within the incinerator).

The by-product of the incineration process is ash. The ash is a very fine reddish brown material that is discharged into a 30 cubic yard container located within the ash garage. The ash is hauled to a sanitary landfill and used as cover material.

The incinerator and ancillary equipment is regulated by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Title V Permit.