Thermal decomposition study of major refuse derived fuel components

Abstract

Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) composed on biomass, paper, textiles, wood, synthetic polymers and other combustible materials is an alternative energy resource to implement Waste-to-Energy strategy. The aim of this study is to investigate the thermal decomposition characteristics of materials forming RDF by thermogravimetric analysis. Thermogravimetric (TG) analysis of RDF components demonstrates major differences in processes behind the thermal decomposition processes of waste components. Biomass decomposition can be divided into two distinct stages for wood, cotton, cotton wool and other biomass samples whereas three distinct stages can be distinguished for cardboard and paper samples. TG plots for synthetic polymers show two degradation steps for latex, vinyl and polystyrene sample, whereas one degradation step in nitrogen is characteristic for the rest of studied synthetic polymers.