Improving long-term operation performance of hazardous waste rotary kiln incineration facilities: An evaluation with...

Hazardous waste rotary kiln incineration, as the most effective and comprehensive technology to reduce and detoxify waste, generally faces problems such as low load rate and short continuous operating periods. However, there are few studies on the actual operation of such facilities and evaluation of their technical efficiency. Based on the 77-week time-series data of the case company, this study introduces in-depth key operating parameters and evaluates long-term technical efficiency through the data envelopment analysis (DEA) method. The results show that the continuous operating period of the rotary kiln incineration facility can reach more than half a year, with an average load rate of 91.7%. In the analysis of 9 input indicators, the amount of injected activated carbon could not be effectively evaluated due to the lack of relevant standards and online real-time monitoring of dioxins, which might become a weak link in the control of flue gas pollution. The average comprehensive technical efficiency of rotary kiln incineration facilities was 0.939, of which the average pure technical efficiency was 0.949 while the average scale efficiency was 0.989. With 33 of the 77 decision-making units being invalid, there is scope for improvement. The amount of incineration could be increased by 5.34%, and among the input variables, dosage of urea, calcium hydroxide and lye with a relatively high improvement ratio. Based on the results, targeted suggestions were proposed to advance the scientific and precise compatibility of hazardous waste, strengthen the control of dioxin emissions, and promote the intelligent control of the entire process.