RDF fuel (refuse derived fuel, which literally means the production of fuel from garbage) is a new alternative method of obtaining energy. Its essence lies in the fact that solid reduced fuel is created from waste that has not been recycled.
All collected municipal solid waste (MSW) is subjected to primary sorting, where recyclable materials are selected for further processing. Such recyclables include paper and cardboard, glass, plastic, metal.
RDF-fuel is produced from the remaining 1/3 of the volume of recycling products. Pellets are made from this garbage and waste on special equipment. By burning them, they get energy.
This alternative type of fuel is used in all industries where high temperature conditions are required. It is used as an auxiliary or main source of energy in the furnaces of cement plants, where it is required to maintain temperatures of about 2000°C.
The spread of the production and further use of RDF fuel has been received in the EU countries. A high level of waste collection culture and well-established waste sorting processes allow these countries to use the cleanest, safest type of solid waste as fuel.
The most active companies engaged in the production of RDF fuel are 7GReenLine, TOMRA Sorting Recycling, Vecoplan.
Problem
- The extraction of hazardous waste is not provided for at any stage of the production of RDF fuel. And they are. These are, for example, mercury-containing energy-saving lamps, batteries, drug residues. The remains of paint and varnish products, automobile waste, plastics also fall into the garbage. During the incineration process, all these wastes can emit dangerous substances, many of which are persistent organic pollutants (after entering the environment, they accumulate, "wedging" into the food chain), heavy metals (for example, lead in any concentration is dangerous to our health).
- The very principle of incineration, especially waste, which includes plastic, is absolutely non-ecological, and the hazardous waste that gets into the initial raw material will poison not only the air, but also a huge amount of ash remaining after burning, and then the earth into which this ash will fall.
- The principle of waste separation is very complex, it requires a separate infrastructure and theoretical training of ordinary people. Such a system, if it works, will definitely not be able to protect from the ingress of dangerous elements into the final fuel.
Our method
From all the above, it is clear that the RDF technology is a danger to the environment. We propose to use an innovative thermal waste destruction complex for waste recycling. The output is high-calorie synthesis gas, convenient for transportation and absolutely harmless during combustion, as well as an innert ash residue. Synth gas can be used not only for industrial units, but also for personal electric generators and cars.
Also, the proposed method does not require careful separation of waste, it is enough to separate organic from inorganic, which will not only reduce the cost of the whole process, but also make it feasible for ordinary people.
