To investigate the cause of an explosion during disposal processing of raw garbage, the property of the raw garbage was primarily examined by a thermo gravimetry-differential thermal analyzer. With mutable oil concentration, the results showed variable onset temperatures of the exothermal reaction for the samples, for example, decreasing from 150 degrees C in the samples typically containing 10.9-14.1% oil to 114 degrees C when the oil content was raised to 40%. The disposal process was then simulated in a laboratory-scale facility being heated by hot air of 150 degrees C, which was blown into the bottom through nozzles. In the case of the dried garbage containing 14.1 % oil, white smoke emitted after several hours, accompanying with an abrupt rise of the temperatures in particular at the bottom of the facility. The maximum temperature reached to 1070 degrees C. Meanwhile, gases, including flammable ones, whose amounts were CO2 approximate to CO > H-2 > methane > ethane in order, were yielded. It indicated that smoldering developed from the zones near the hot air supply nozzle and propagated along the pathway of the imposed air. The continuously released gases possibly induced the transition of smoldering to flame or explosion after accumulating for hours. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.