Evaluation of the Rotary Drum Reactor Process as Municipal Solid Waste Pretreatment Technology for Biomass Utilization

摘要

This study was carried out with an aim of effectively separating the biodegradable materials from municipal solid waste (MSW) and investigating the characteristics and heating values. Rotary drum reactor (RDR) process was evaluated as a MSW pretreatment technology to separate the biodegradable materials in MSW as the feedstock of anaerobic digestion. The RDR processes used in six commercial MSW treatment plants located in the USA, were investigated. The organics produced by the RDR process were analyzed for characteristics and high heating values. The moisture content, TS, VS and C/N of the samples varied between 64.7 to 44.4%, 55.6 to 35.3%, 27.0 to 41.3% and 24.5 to 42.7, respectively. The high heating values were measured to be around 16 MJ/kg dry matter. The results indicated that the biodegradable materials separated from MSW using the RDR processes may be used as good feedstock for bio-utilization.