Refuse-derived fuel

RDF consists largely of combustible components of such waste, as non recyclable plastics (not including PVC), paper cardboard, labels, and other corrugated materials.

At that time the thought of cost reduction through replacement of fossil fuels was the priority as considerable competition pressure weighed down on the industry.

[3] During the production of RDF / SRF in MBT plants there are solid loses of otherwise combustible material,[6] which generates a debate whether the production and use of RDF / SRF is resource efficient or not over traditional one-step combustion of residual MSW in incineration (Energy from waste) plants.

Drying RDF often requires a substantial amount of energy, so choosing an inexpensive heat source is preferable.

In Europe RDF can be used in the cement kiln industry, where strict air pollution control standards of the Waste Incineration Directive apply.

The biomass fraction of RDF and SRF has a monetary value under multiple greenhouse gas protocols, such as the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme and the Renewable Obligation Certificate program in the United Kingdom.

Several research papers, including the one commissioned by the Renewable Energy Association in the UK, have been published that demonstrate how the carbon-14 result can be used to calculate the biomass calorific value.

There are major challenges related to the quality assurance and especially the accurate determination of the RDF / SRF thermal recovery (combustion) properties, due to their inherently variable (heterogeneous) composition.

[12] The new evidence suggests that the theory of sampling (ToS) may be overestimating the processing effort needed, to obtain a representative sub-sample.

In 2009, in response to the Naples waste management issue in Campania, Italy, the Acerra incineration facility was completed at a cost of over €350 million.

[14] The first full-scale waste-to-energy facility in the US was the Arnold O. Chantland Resource Recovery Plant, built in 1975 located in Ames, Iowa.

The Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority has recently announced there is significant market interest in initial bids for the use of RDF which is projected to be produced in tonnages up to 900,000 tonnes per annum.

The 70,000-80,000 tonnes RDF that is produced per annum is used to power the nearby BFB-plant, which provides the citizens of Bollnäs with electricity and district heating.

"[21] In October 2018, the UAE's Ministry of Climate Change and Environment signed a concession agreement with Emirates RDF (BESIX, Tech Group Eco Single Owner, Griffin Refineries) to develop and operate a RDF facility in the Emirate of Umm Al Quwain.