Toshihiko Matsuto*, Nobutoshi Tanaka* and Youngjae Kim*

* Department of Environmental and Sanitary Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University

+ Correspondence should be addressed to Toshihiko Matsuto:
(Kita 13 Nishi 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060 Japan)

Abstract

Composition of input waste at a RDF production facility is the predominant factor for determining the configuration of processes, and the characteristics of the produced RDF. The authors modeled the following source separation scenarios: 1) combustible MSW, 2) combustible MSW without food waste to reduce energy consumption, and 3) combustible MSW without plastics to reduce hydrogen chloride gas generation during combustion. Food waste inclusion has the advantage of a lower MSW disposal cost, but lowers energy production. Plastics exclusion is highly disadvantageous both in terms of cost and energy performance, especially when the RDF production facility is small in size. Because HCl gas can be reduced by other technologies or equipment, using combustible waste without removing food waste and plastics is the best choice as raw material for RDF production.

Key words: RDF, MSW, source separation, cost balance, energy balance