Evaluation of the potential of refuse-derived fuel recovery in the open dump by resistivity survey prior to mining

Currently, there is no technique to characterise the waste composition that can be processed into refuse-derived fuel in the open dumpsite. This study's objective is to investigate the feasibility of applying resistivity measurements to evaluate waste composition in the open dumpsite. Electrical resistivity surveys were performed in two open dumpsites. One hundred waste samples were collected from both sites to classify the composition. The relation between resistivity and waste composition was then studied. The result showed a high correlation between resistivity and the composition of plastic (r(2) = 0.809), characterising the waste in the dumpsite. The waste with resistivity values range 0.1-80 omega m, 80-250 omega center dot m and above 250 omega m have compositions of plastic equalling 25-35%, 30-45% and above 40%, respectively. This finding can be used as a guideline to characterise the waste composition before mining. The resistivity measurement provides a reliable result but is labour-intensive.