Debris Reduction
The vast amount of debris produced by a natural disaster can create a recycling challenge. When possible Amerigreen (AGER) pledges to maximize the effort to recycle any and all recyclable materials. Protection of the environment at the work site and surrounding areas are of utmost importance to AGER. Company philosophy is to restore the natural environment as closely to the same condition as possible. Amerigreen prides itself in Planning the best DMS site layout. AGER coordinates with local and state officials, evaluates topography, geography and soil/substrate conditions. In the example above the jurisdiction chose to reduce the vegetative debris through controlled burning. When possible, AGER prefers to reduce vegetative debris through recycling and encourages green initiatives which benefit the environment. In the example below please note the segregation of logs which have been selected and cut from tree trunks to establish an eight foot or longer quality log to market to pulp mills, saw mills or veneer mills. Timber in log form is always marketable and depending on quality can be transported to market. As for stumps they are split and reduced to chips or burned. Limbs, twigs, short blocks and inferior logs are ground or burned.
Wood chips are collected and transported to organic fuel users. Chips unfit for fuel or chips surplus may be mixed with ash from burning operations (after testing and containing no contaminants) and used to produce quality marketable compost suitable for landscaping and/or land application.
DMS sites during Hurricane Michael Clean up- Sumter County GA 2018
Air Curtain Incineration
There are two basic types of air curtain incineration employed in the United States. The first, as depicted below, involves the use of fire box. Incinerators don’t burn anything. They merely control the product that is burning so as to reduce the particulate matter (smoke) that is released into the atmosphere. Essentially, the presence of forced air, redirects the particulates back into the fire while at the same time infusing fresh air into the pit/box to facilitate a more complete burn.
The second type can vary depending on hydrology. See the examples below:
There are four (4) basic elements to an incinerator: (1) the air manifold that delivers the flow of air over the pit; (2) the fire box or pit refractory wall that the manifold sits on; (3) the actual wood waste, and; (4) the air curtain (ie the actual flowing of the air). In the first file photo from a Florida operation, the pit is either over filled or is not deep enough. The goal is for the air curtain to flow “over” the top of the debris and be repelled back to the refractory wall. In the first figure, the air is blowing into the fire creating a significant hazard. The second figure has similar issues though not as severe.
