Heavy metal fate during co-incineration of organic waste of pharmaceutical industry

During the production of the life saving drugs in a pharmaceutical industry, there will be generation of the organic waste which is inevitable. The safe disposal of the waste is a pressing issue for these industries; though the incineration process is available such industries are looking for the more eco friendly disposal methodologies. Energy recovery by means of combustion in Waste-to-Energy or conservation of fossil fuels by the replacement in the energy intensive production process such as cement industries is a viable possible application. Currently, there are various norms for co-incineration and concern for heavy metal fate in view of the possible bio magnification. The results demonstrated no variability in the heavy metal effects to the environment either through emissions or in the form of the solid waste. The result suggests not only technical and economic feasibility of co-incineration method, but also the feasibility of adopting the co-incineration process for the disposal of the pharmaceutical waste.