The Biological Drying of Municipal Waste in an Industrial Reactor—A Case Study

Abstract

One of the methods of municipal solid waste (MSW) treatment is biodrying. The literature describes mainly the results obtained in a laboratory- and a pilot-scale reactor. The manuscript presents the results of MSW treatment in a full-scale bio-drying reactor (150 m3). The reactor is operated in one of the Polish installations specializing in mechanical-biological treatment (MBT). During the 14 day period of biodrying in the reactor, the parameters of MSW such as the moisture, temperature, loss on ignition (LOI), and net heating value (NHV) were examined. The temperature of the air in the reactor was also examined. The research also included changes in the above-mentioned parameters of MSW located in three parts of the reactor: the front, middle, and back. The test results showed that the moisture content of the waste decreased from the initial level of 55% to the level of 30%. This was accompanied by an increase in the NHV from 6.3 MJ kg−1 to 9.6 MJ kg−1. At the same time, the LOI decreased from 68% d.m. to 45% d.m. The LOI decrease is not favorable from the point of view of using MSW as refuse-derived fuel (RDF), as was expected in the final usage stage. The results have application value as the plant operator, having at their disposal the controlling of the reactor’s ventilation and the temperature inside the reactor, should select the speed of the moisture removal from MSW at such a level as to minimize the LOI decrease.

Polynomial Regression Model Utilization to Determine Potential Refuse-Derived Fuel (RDF) Calories in Indonesia

“…Fifth order: y = 0.00003x 5 − 0.0069x 4 + 0.6298x 3 − 24.325x 2 + 432.84x + 55.745 (6) Furthermore, each of these equations is reapplied using the dataset in Table 2, and the calorie calculation results are displayed by orange, cyan, purple, black, and red curves in Figure 4. The orange curve represents a first-order polynomial equation with an R2 value of 0.2676.…”

“…Even agricultural and plantation residues often cause disturbance, not only for the environment but also socially, economically, and politically. Therefore, researchers are starting to look at the use of waste for many needs, especially energy and materials [4][5][6]. Hence, renewable energy sources related to converting organic waste materials to energy are becoming important attractive substitutes for the near future [7].…”

Impact of Biochar Addition and Air-Flow Rate on Ammonia and Carbon Dioxide Concentration in the Emitted Gases from Aerobic Biostabilization of Waste

“…Biostabilization, also referred to as biological stabilization, is an aerobic decomposition process and is most often applied in mechanical biological treatment (MBT) in plants managing mixed municipal solid waste (MSW) [ 1 , 2 ]. The undersized fraction of MSW (UFMSW) obtained after screening (opening sizes ranging from 80 to 120 mm) is typically subjected to aerated bioreactors, in which an intensive phase of biological stabilization takes place (at least 2 weeks) [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]. Next, the waste undergoes a maturation phase, which usually is carried out in an open-windrow system.…”

Biostabilization process of undersized fraction of municipal solid waste with biochar addition

“…In MBT plants mixed municipal solid waste (MSW) is subjected to screening, and next the oversized fraction of MSW is usually processed further for energy use, whereas the UFMSW, containing mainly the biodegradable waste, is transferred to dedicated bioreactors for biological treatment processes, e.g. methane (anaerobic) digestion, biodrying and/or biostabilization [3,4]. Biological processing of the UFMSW is mainly conducted using anaerobic [5][6][7] and aerobic biostabilization [8][9][10] resulting in limited sanitation (decreased microbial activity) as well as reduction of waste mass and volume and organic matter (OM) content.…”