Enviroman


Marco Muia: Direct and to the point www.oaktree-environmental.co.uk


Confusion over defi nitions makes recovery confusing,


and specialist help essential


If you ask non-waste people if they know what RDF is, you’re more likely to get the response of “Radical Dance Faction” or the “Richard Dawkins Foundation” than “Refuse Derived Fuel”.


With this in mind I thought I should search for defi nitions worldwide, just to see how diff erent they ar e. It should come as no surprise there is no universal defi nition.


However, the Residual Waste Team in Defra came up with a temporary defi nition in November 2015, to clarify what is expected of operators and to assist the Environment Agency (EA) with regulation of the RDF sector (including waste exports).


Refuse derived fuel (RDF) consists of residual waste, that is subject to a contract with an end-user for use as a fuel in an energy from waste facility.


The contract must include the end-user’s technical specifi cations relating as a minimum to the calorifi c value, the moisture content, the form and quantity of the RDF.


What is certain is there is no way back for landfi ll, with the ever increasing tax now standing at £84.40 per tonne which makes waste recovery essential. There is much confusion between the content of RDF and SRF (Solid Recovered Fuel) and plenty of band wagon jumping.


I have had countless conversations relating to planning and permitting for processing and storage facilities, plus waste export, from companies both in and out of the waste industry.


Many of those enquiries result in the project falling at the fi rst hurdle because of costs, contract diffi culties, site availability etc.


Not surprisingly there has been an increase in interest from waste criminals as well, who don’t bother with planning and permitting, and many industrial buildings around the UK are fi lled with waste, leaving landowners to pick up the cost.


32 SHM February, 2017


The specifi cation of RDF is more crude than SRF, primarily because SRF is destined for use in more specialised recovery plants, or sectors such as the cement industry where lower specifi cations would have an adverse impact on plant performance and emissions (when compared with a ‘standard’ waste to energy plant or incinerator). I have provided a rough comparison to give an idea of the diff erence between the two, with data from the aforementioned WRAP review in 2012 and industry specifi cations sourced during our work. (See right)


EVER INCREASING TAX


RDF can often be crudely sorted and shredded, whereas SRF is a highly processed product, prepared to a tighter specifi cation, with removal of undesirable elements,


RDF generally does not have a detailed compositional standard, with some specifi cations allowing a small proportion of material that would not be acceptable in SRF such as metals, glass, rubble, stone etc.


Both should have low chlorine content, and limits for mercury, cadmium and heavy metals, with SRF being far tighter.


In summary both RDF and SRF should be produced to a specifi cation which is planned with the end user in mind, rather than producing it then fi nding an outlet. This is all too common as companies seek to avoid landfi ll disposal.


Preparation of fuel is a specialised operation, that may also require changes to a permit or planning consent to accommodate the additional plant and equipment.


For example, the mixed waste that is often used in RDF production is coded as 19 12 12, and whilst almost all waste sites produce this code, many cannot accept it.


Preparing waste for use in energy recovery, may assist towards zero to landfi ll but it is not a quick fi x.


SRF SPECS - PLUS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT


CALORIFIC VALUES


ONE specifi cation of SRF quotes a size of 35mm in two dimensions, and 5mm in at least one dimension.


Some operators claim to be producing RDF, when it is simply baled mixed waste and often remains on site for too long because there are few outlets that can take the material.


CALORIFIC VALUES


The calorifi c value of RDF on average is 10.4 MJ/ kg, whereas SRF is often between 16 and 22 MJ/kg.


As a comparison, coal is between 15 and 30 MJ/kg.


RDF moisture content of 20% versus SRF, which is often 15% or lower.


RDF ash content of approximately 28.14%, w/w versus 10% for SRF.


WHO IS MARCO?


Marco Muia BSc (Hons) MSc MCIWM is a Director of Oaktree Environmental Limited. He specialises in all aspects of waste planning and regulation


consultancy. He also holds the level 4 COTCs for Hazardous Waste Treatment and Transfer.


You can contact Marco on: 01606 558833.


If you have any questions about this article, e-mail him via:


marco@oaktree-environmental.co.uk Follow him on Twitter @wastechat


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