ABSTRACT
Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) from the city of Boa Esperança, Minas Gerais, Brazil, was used to produce refuse-derived fuel (RDF). The MSW contains residues from human society, including product packaging, bottles, batteries, organic waste, fines, textiles, health textiles, plastics, glass, and metals, among others. The following protocol was performed during the conversion of MSW to RDF: (i) the raw MSW was placed in a silo and sent to a primary crusher using a metal conveyor belt, which reduced the particle size to 80â¯mm; (ii) the biomass was transferred to a selective waste collection platform by a rubber conveyor belt, and the recyclable waste, metals, and glasses were separated manually; (iii) residual metals were removed by a magnetic separator; (iv) the waste was transferred to a secondary crusher which reduced the particle size to 60â¯mm; (v) the waste passed through an airborne separator to remove materials with high density, such as glass, stones, and organic materials, using a metallic conveyor belt; (vi) the particle size was reduced to 40â¯mm by a tertiary crusher; (vii) the aluminium was separated from the non-metallic materials (plastic, paper, rubber, etc.) using an eddy current separator; (viii) the particle size was reduced to 25â¯mm using a quaternary crusher; (ix) the MSW was introduced into a rotary dryer using a metal conveyor belt, where the moisture content was reduced to close to 15â¯wt%, which required thermal energy equivalent to 186â¯kWh; (x) the RDF was used in a thermochemical reactor and 4148â¯kWh of thermal energy was produced. In addition, the MSW and RDF were analysed, and the elemental composition and combustion characteristics were determined. Based on these results, the protocol evaluated was found to be effective in the conversion of MSW to RDF, which can be used as a source of renewable fuel.