Evaluation of heat value and its prediction for refuse-derived fuel

The rising prices of raw materials and the concerns of energy conservation have resulted in an increasing interest in the recovery of materials and energy from the waste streams. In recent years, a number of credible surveys have shown that recycling and the concept of waste-to-energy appear to be practical. Compatibility exists for several reasons related to economic, environmental, political and social aspects. However, the impacts of solid waste pre-sorting on waste-to-energy facilities remain uncertain in different countries due to the inherent complexity of the composition of solid waste. Here we illustrate a regression analysis of heating values based on the products generated by a typical refuse-derived fuel system, developed in Taiwan, that is prepared to coordinate subsequent waste-to-energy facilities for solving the municipal solid waste (MSW) problems in the future. This pre-sorting system, designed solely for municipal solid waste, consists of standard unit operations of shredding, magnetic separation, trommel screening and air classification. The prediction accuracy using regression models is proven to be better than other analytical formulas. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.