Industrial innovations for tomorrow: Advances in industrial energy-efficiency technologies. Commercial power plant tests blend of refuse-derived fuel and coal to generate electricity.

摘要

MSW can be converted to energy in two ways. One involves the direct burning of MSW to produce steam and electricity. The second converts MSW into refuse-derived fuel (RDF) by reducing the size of the MSW and separating metals, glass, and other inorganic materials. RDF can be densified or mixed with binders to form fuel pellets. As part of a program sponsored by DOE's Office of Industrial Technologies, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory participated in a cooperative research and development agreement to examine combustion of binder-enhanced, densified refuse-derived fuel (b-d RDF) pellets with coal. Pelletized b-d RDF has been burned in coal combustors, but only in quantities of less than 3% in large utility systems. The DOE project involved the use of b-d RDF in quantities up to 20%. A major goal was to quantify the pollutants released during combustion and measure combustion performance.