•Carbonized Refuse Derived Fuel may be qualified as 1st class quality fuel.•Torrefaction allows on RDF/SRF improvement, and recycling as a CRDF.•Torrefaction temperature has an effect on Carbonized ...Refuse Derived Fuel properties.
The influence of Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF)/Solid Recovery Fuel (SRF) torrefaction temperature on product characteristic was investigated. RDF/SRF thermal treatment experiment was conducted with 1-h residence time, under given temperatures: 200, 220, 240, 260, 280 and 300°C. Sawdust was used as reference material. The following parameters of torrefaction char from sawdust and Carbonized Refuse Derived Fuel (CRDF) from RDF/SRF were measured: moisture, calorific value, ash content, volatile compounds and sulfur content. Sawdust biochar was confirmed as a good quality solid fuel, due to significant fuel property increase. The study also indicated that RDF torrefaction reduced moisture significantly from 22.9% to 1.4% and therefore increased lower heating value (LHV) from 19.6 to 25.3MJ/kg. Results suggest that RDF torrefaction may be a good method for increasing attractiveness of RDF as an energy source, and it could help unify RDF properties on the market.
Waste generation creates issues that must be resolved to reduce the impact of waste on the environment. Therefore, some waste fractions are transformed into refuse-derived fuels (RDFs). Due to their ...status as waste products and their heterogeneity based on the location of municipal solid waste (MSW) generation, there are significant challenges associated with the distribution of RDFs as a valuable fuel on the market. This manuscript reviews the current status of the process and the legislative challenges associated with the application of alternative fuels. The fundamental reason for preparing this knowledge evaluation is that there are limited opportunities to use waste as a fuel, such as RDF, in commercial power generation due to combustion process restrictions. According to the results of the analyses, only approximately 48% of RDF fuels may be used to safely create energy. To fully realise the promise of RDF fuels, the remaining 52% requires a different technological, process, or thermal approach. Various solutions were investigated to identify the main challenges associated with the application of RDFs in select thermal processes. The processing of RDFs under specific conditions can allow us to obtain valuable energy. The handling of alternative fuels is limited by their status as waste materials. The application of RDFs as alternative fuels in coke-making blends for blast furnace coke production was also examined. However, preventing waste formation and limiting its negative impact on the environment are the most important objectives. Therefore, measures to work towards these objectives are necessary.
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•Waste generation creates issues that must be resolved to reduce the impact of waste on the environment.•Due to RDFs' classification distributing them as a useful fuel presents considerable hurdles.•According to analyses, only 48% of RDF fuels can safely create energy.•The processing of RDFs under specific conditions can allow us to obtain valuable energy.•This manuscript analyses the procedural and legislative challenges of alternative fuels.
Increasing production of waste has compelled the development of modern technologies for waste management. Certain fractions of municipal solid wastes are not suitable for recycling and must be ...utilised in other ways. Materials such as refuse-derived fuel (RDF) fractions are used as fuel in cement or CHP (combined heat and power) plants. The low bulk density leads to many problems pertaining to transportation and storage. In the case of biomass, these problems cause reduction in pelletisation. This paper therefore presents a comprehensive study on RDF pellet production, which is divided into three major areas. The first describes laboratory-scale tests and provides information on key factors that affect pellet quality (e.g., density and durability). Based on this, the second part presents a design of modified RDF dies to form RDF pellets, which are then tested via a semi-professional line test. The results show that RDF fraction can be compacted to form pellets using conventional devices. Given that temperature plays a key role, a special die must be used, and this ensures that the produced pellets exhibit high durability and bulk density, similar to biomass pellets.
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•CFD-simulations of rotary cement kilns considering coating layers are conducted.•Numerical models for RDF, coating and clinker bed are presented and combined.•The impact of coating ...regions on RDF combustion and clinker properties is investigated.•Light and evenly distributed coating profiles are found to be beneficial for the process.•Heavy and locally concentrated coating can result in a high free lime content of 2 wt%.
The formation of regions of solid coating, where agglomerated clinker material adheres to the refractory lining of the kiln wall, is very common during cement clinker production. While a thin coating layer protects the refractory lining, strong deposit formation can impair the material flow through the kiln. In this study, the impact of these coating layers on the clinker production process within a rotary kiln is investigated with CFD simulations. The fuel injected at the main burner is a mixture of pulverized coal and refuse derived fuel (RDF). Advanced models were developed to accurately describe the trajectories and thermal conversion of non-spherical RDF particles in the gas phase. These models are based on a detailed fuel analysis of major RDF fractions. A blocked-off region approach is used to consider different coating profiles within the simulation domain. The thermochemical processes in the clinker bed of the kiln are approximated with a one-dimensional model that calculates heat and mass exchange with the gas phase, the incorporation of fuel ashes into the bed and the chemical-mineralogical reactions of the clinker. The blocked-off region approach is also employed to account for the clinker bed geometry in the kiln, which greatly depends on the considered coating profile. Two cases, one with a thin and evenly distributed coating profile and one with a thick and locally concentrated coating, are simulated. The resulting impact on RDF conversion, gas phase properties and clinker phase formation are assessed and compared to a reference case without any coating. Results show that the insulation effect of a thin coating profile increases the gas phase temperature in the kiln and helps to reduce the free lime content of the final clinker product. In the case of heavy coating, a temperature shift towards the solid material inlet of the kiln occurs, which outweighs the beneficial insulation effect of the coating in the sintering zone and leads to lower local gas phase temperatures. In combination with reduced clinker residence times, this results in a slight increase of the free lime content in the clinker.
•Fundamental combustion studies of high ash, high plastic content Indian RDF.•Single particle studies show decisive effect of high ash on RDF char conversion.•RDF exhibits a unique swelling behavior ...due to its high plastic content.•RDF ash has high alkali, alkaline earth metals and lower ash fusion temperatures.•High ash coupled with high plastic content resulted in clinkers inside packed bed.
This work reports fundamental combustion characteristics of high ash (∼ 18 %), high plastic (30–35 %) content refuse derived fuel (RDF) pellets produced currently in India. Single particle and packed bed studies of RDF were carried out to quantify RDF combustion times and RDF ash fusion behavior, respectively. Single particle studies concluded that RDF has glowing time to flaming time ratio of ∼ 3.5, which was similar to that of biomass and four times lower than that of coal. It was also observed that unlike biomass, upon heating, RDF particle showed a unique 5.6 to 10.3 % swelling behavior due to the melting of plastic. Packed bed experiments at different air mass flux on RDF pellets concluded that apart from air mass flux, ash content plays a decisive role on rate of flame propagation. The high plastic content of fuel increased ash fusion tendency inside the packed bed. Packed bed studies suggested maximum superficial velocity of ≤ 0.03 m s−1 to avoid clinker formation. Sieve analysis of RDF ash collected from packed bed studies reported soft ash at a lower air mass flux and bigger lumps of fused ash at higher air mass flux. Clinkers obtained at different air mass flux 0.02, 0.07, 0.13 kg m−2 s−1 were 1 %, 8 % and 11 % of the feed, respectively.
This paper presents CFD simulations of an industrial scale rotary kiln for cement clinker production. The fuel for the kiln flame is a mixture of pulverized coal and a Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF). ...Advanced models were developed to appropriately describe the thermal conversion characteristics and aerodynamics of non-spherical RDF particles. The models are based on detailed fuel analyses (e.g. flight and combustion characteristics, physical and chemical fuel properties) of major RDF fractions, like plastic foils, 3D plastic particles, paper & cardboard and textiles. The processes in the clinker within the kiln are approximated using a simplified one-dimensional model that calculates heat and mass exchange with the gas phase and the resulting chemical-mineralogical reactions in the solid bed. Calculation results of the one-dimensional model are compared to measurements obtained from a semi-industrial laboratory rotary kiln. Two cases, one with 100% lignite and one where 50% of the fuel heat input is substituted with RDF, are simulated. Based on the simulation results, the shift of flame shape and fuel conversion as well as the resulting effects on the clinker phase transition are analyzed and discussed. Results show that co-combustion of RDF can lead to lower gas and clinker temperatures in the sintering zone, which can affect the clinker properties.
•COVID-19 pandemic brought huge amount of medical wastes, which is mainly made of plastic polymer.•Thermochemical treatments (incineration, torrefaction, pyrolysis, and gasification) are ...reviewed.•The review focuses on the applicability of those technologies to convert the medical wastes.•Incineration has the highest material flexibility, followed by gasification and pyrolysis.•Gasification and pyrolysis are considered as the most promising conversion technologies.
COVID-19 pandemic has brought tremendous environmental burden due to huge amount of medical wastes (about 54,000 t/d as of November 22, 2020), including face mask, gloves, clothes, goggles, and sanitizer/disinfectant containers. A proper waste management is urgently required to mitigate the spread of the disease, minimize the environmental impacts, and take their potential advantages for further utilization. This work provides a prospective review on the possible thermochemical treatments for those COVID-19 related medical wastes (CMW), as well as their possible conversion to fuels. The characteristics of each waste are initially analyzed and described, especially their potential as energy source. It is clear that most of CMWs are dominated by plastic polymers. Thermochemical processes, including incineration, torrefaction, pyrolysis, and gasification, are reviewed in terms of applicability for CMW. In addition, the mechanical treatment of CMW into sanitized refuse-derived fuel (SRDF) is also discussed as the preliminary stage before thermochemical conversion. In terms of material flexibility, incineration is practically applicable for all types of CMW, although it has the highest potential to emit the largest amount of CO2 and other harmful gasses. Furthermore, gasification and pyrolysis are considered promising in terms of energy conversion efficiency and environmental impacts. On the other hand, carbonization faces several technical problems following thermal degradation due to insufficient operating temperature.
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•Pyrolysis technology can be successfully applied into RDF conversion.•Heating value of pyrolytic gas was estimated at the level about 24 MJ/m3.•Residence time significantly ...influences the pyrolytic gas composition.•Computer simulations predicted the chemical composition of pyrolytic gas.
The current COVID-19 pandemic situation and the associated restrictions have increased the amount of generated waste. It results from the necessity to wear personal protective equipment. Thus, the disposal of masks and gloves is a topical issue and requires immediate investigation. The main aims of this work are management and environmental studies of municipal solid wastes (MSW), which have been generated during the COVID-19 pandemic time. Effective waste management in relation to a circular economy is presented. A sample of refuse derived fuel (RDF) with a high content of plastics was used for the experimental and calculation studies. Pyrolysis was selected as the best thermal decomposition process for this kind of wastes. Proximate and ultimate analyses were performed for RDF and its products. Pyrolysis was carried out using a pilot-scale reactor with acontinuous flow of 250 kg/h at 900 °C. Thermogravimetric analysis was applied during the pyrolysis investigation and showed that the main decomposition of RDF took place in the temperature range of 250–500 °C. The pyrolysis gas contained combustible compounds like CO (19.8%), H2 (13.2%), CH4 (18.9%) and C2H4 (7.1%), giving a high calorific value – 24.4 MJ/m3. The experimental results were implemented for numerical calculations.
Chemkin-Pro software was applied to predict the chemical composition of the pyrolysis gas. The performed computer simulations demonstrated very good agreement with the results obtained during the experiments. They also indicated that there is a strong relationship between the chemical composition of the pyrolysis gas, the process temperature and residence time in the reactor.
•Drag and lift coefficients are important to describe the flight behaviour of particles.•Refuse derived fuel (RDF) has a non-trivial flight behaviour due to its complex shapes.•A computer vision ...based method to derive the shape and flight characteristics of RDF particles is presented.•A frequency distribution of the drag and lift coefficients of RDF is provided.
This research investigates the flight behavior of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) in a drop shaft using Computer Vision to obtain statistical data on the aerodynamic properties of the particles.
Methods to determine 3D geometry models of complex-shaped particles by photogrammetry and to obtain time resolved particle positions and velocities are described. Furthermore, an approach to obtain the frequency distribution of drag and lift coefficients from photogrammetric analysis and drop shaft experiments is presented. The image evaluation is based on algorithms of the open-source libraries OpenCV, COLMAP as well as MeshLab and Open3D. The precision of the system is validated employing model particles with known geometry. The 3D particle models overestimate the particle surface area by 4.58 %, the position detection works with a mean deviation of 2.73 %. The average sink rate is calculated with an accuracy of 4.87 % and the drag coefficient with an accuracy of 2.08 %. Finally, the frequency distribution of four RDF fractions, namely, textiles, cardboard, 3D plastic particles and 2D plastic foils are presented.
The Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) generation per capita in developing countries is generally said to grow in proportion to the gross national product. Composting and waste to energy have a brief ...history as management strategies for MSW in India and as alternatives to landfilling. Analysis of Energy generation and compost potential from waste can minimize the impact of MSW on the environment with the added advantage of providing a local source of energy. The study has been carried out to develop a system dynamic (SD) model to predict the energy generation, treatment, and cost analysis for MSW up to 2030. The predictive model developed in this study showed the generation rate of electrical energy potential augmented from 0 in 2001 to 58,380 MWh in 2007 and 319,875 MWh in 2030. Whereas, the production rate of compost reduced from 77,000 tonnes in 2001 to 45,000 tonnes in 2006 and then improved to 390,000 tonnes in 2030. In addition, the predicted revenue generated from different treatment facilities increased from 0 in 2001 to Rs.335 million (4.36 million USD) in 2007 and Rs.2569 million (33.4 million USD) in 2030. As a result, revenue generated could cover the budgets required for MSW treatment and disposal services in 2030, where the required budget is negative because revenue exceeds expenditures. The developed SD model can improve a municipal solid waste management system for any City.
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•SD model to predict the energy generation, treatment, and cost analysis for MSW up to 2030.•In 2030, most of SW will be treated by the process of composting, biomethanation and RDF.•Such models enable decision makers in prediction energy potential from MSW.•Budget for MSW disposal and treatment will remain less than the capital generation by 2030.•Uncollected waste is significantly reduced by the implementation of MSW treatment facilities.
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