Characterization of an Industrial Refuse Derived Fuel

With the increasing generation of wastes, researches have been looking for improvements on the treatment and final disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW). The absence of data collection related to MSW composition delays more effective advances in this field of knowledge and in industrial implementation. In Brazil, MSW is subdivided into two categories: wastes from human being activities and industrial wastes. The refuse-derived fuel (RDF) has been presented as a solution to decrease the wastes destined to controlled industrial landfills. Knowing the composition of RDF might be a determining factor for processes optimization and to reduce the volume in landfills. Therefore, this work goes in the way to identify the main composition of the RDF. Sampling is been conducted in wastes that arrives at the controlled industrial landfill in Blumenau-SC, Brazil. The adopted study of its composition distinguishes them through its main components, which can be divided into nine categories (plastic, fabric, paper, board, rubber, metal, styrofoam and foam, wood and unidentified wastes). The results are showing that plastics are the main component in RDF. Analysis of high heating value (HHV), moisture, chlorine and ashes have been made and resulted on an average of 5000 kcal kg-1, 7,8%, 0,14% and 16%, respectively.