Industrial scale process integration for sustainable conversion of solid waste into refuse derived fuel in Thailand

Abstract

Abstract Sustainable conversion of solid waste into RDF using industrial scale management was conducted using a case study from central Thailand. Raw material waste from households and landfills were identified for high heating value composition, both contained substantial shares of diverse plastics (60% and 54%, respectively), followed by textile and plant-based waste. The empirical validation of a dual-line process configurated that systematically balances mechanical energy expenditure against output fuel quality. The first production line produces RDF-2.5 (35% yield) and RDF-3 (39.7% yield) at a low energy consumption of 25 kWh/ton. The second line first applies a reduction stage to the raw materials, then blends the reduced stream with 3.5 tons of processed material from the first line for further drying and fine-size screening. This second line accounts for 57% of total raw materials and consumes about 114 kWh/ton. This integrated system successfully generated a premium RDF-3.5 grade boasting a remarkable HHV of 29.13 ± 1.93 MJ/kg, representing a 45–60% increase over RDF-2.5 and RDF-3. This thermal superiority is directly attributed to a minimized mean moisture content of 11.91 ± 1.62%, which significantly outperforms RDF-2.5 (31.08 ± 1.47%) and RDF-3 (23.95 ± 0.92%), although chloride contents in RDF-3 and RDF-3.5 remained comparably elevated. The industrial significance of this work centers on providing a commercial-scale operational blueprint for waste-to-energy sectors. By converting highly variable municipal and landfill streams into high-calorific alternative fuel, Heavy industry can effectively replace fossil fuels, while optimizing investments based on localized technological, economic, and environmental trade-offs.