Incinerator Capacity Calculator

Work out incinerator capacity instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Incinerator Capacity Calculator

Hourly throughput is annual tonnage divided by operating hours, which is 8760 times availability — 85-90% is typical after planned and unplanned outages. Thermal load is throughput times calorific value, and a grate line is generally limited to 25-40 MW thermal, which determines the number of lines needed.

Formulas

Throughput

Hourly throughput (kg/h) = annual tonnes x 1000 / (8760 x availability)

Thermal load

Thermal load (MW) = throughput (kg/h) x CV (MJ/kg) / 3600

Worked example

With the default values below, Incinerator Capacity Calculator returns Design Hourly Throughput of 25,944.4. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Annual Waste Throughputminimum 0 tonnes/year: 200,000 tonnes/year
Plant Availabilityaccepts 0–100 %: 88 %
Waste Calorific Valueminimum 0 MJ/kg: 10 MJ/kg
Design Thermal Load Per Lineminimum 0 MW: 30 MW

Results

Design Hourly Throughput: 25,944.4
Total Thermal Load: 72.068
Incineration Lines Required: 3
Throughput Per Line: 8,648.13

Step by step

1Values used
2Throughput
3Thermal load
4Design Hourly Throughput= 25,944.4
5Total Thermal Load= 72.068
6Incineration Lines Required= 3
7Throughput Per Line= 8,648.13

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation or tax into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 3 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
Waste incineration is subject to strict emission limits, continuous monitoring and combustion condition requirements under industrial emissions regulation.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Waste incineration is subject to strict emission limits, continuous monitoring and combustion condition requirements under industrial emissions regulation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is the firing diagram important?

A grate can only accept a range of combinations of throughput and calorific value. High-CV waste must be fed at a lower rate to stay within the thermal limit, and low-CV waste may not sustain combustion.

Why at least two lines?

So that the plant can continue accepting waste during a planned outage. Single-line plants need alternative disposal arrangements for several weeks a year.