Pyrolysis vs Incineration: Which Fits Your Waste Stream?
Two different technologies, often confused. Incineration burns waste with excess oxygen at 850–1,100 °C, converting organics to heat and inert ash. Pyrolysis heats waste without oxygen, producing syngas, oil and char that must then be used or treated. They solve different problems.
When incineration is the right choice. Choose incineration when the goal is volume and pathogen destruction: mixed municipal waste, infectious clinical waste, animal mortalities, contaminated packaging. It is robust to variable waste composition and delivers predictable, permit-friendly emission performance with a two-chamber design.
When pyrolysis makes sense. Pyrolysis fits homogeneous, high-energy feedstocks — tyres, plastics — where recovering oil or gas has market value. It demands consistent feed quality, and its outputs (syngas, char) still need a compliant use or disposal route.
The decision rule. If your driver is safe, compliant disposal of variable waste, incinerate. If your driver is resource recovery from a clean, single stream, evaluate pyrolysis. Most African municipal, medical and farm projects we size end up in the first category.
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