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Mechanical heat treatment of municipal solid waste

Mechanical heat treatment of municipal solid waste
Mechanical heat treatment of municipal solid waste
To meet the requirements of the EU landfill directive, which prohibits the disposal of waste to landfill without prior treatment, various types of waste management processes have been proposed. This paper describes the detailed investigation and analysis of a plant employing a process known as mechanical heat treatment. The plant was built, operated for a pilot period and monitored as part of Defra’s new technologies demonstrator programme. The plant treated 20 500 t of household residual waste, through a combination of heat treatment and mechanical separation technology, to produce solid recovered fuels and recyclables (glass, plastics, ferrous and non-ferrous metals). It is shown that mechanical heat treatment can be an effective and efficient way of processing mixed municipal solid wastes, but the details of the plant and process are crucially important. Modifications to the plant were made as a result of experience gained during the initial phase of operation, including the redesign of some of the equipment to avoid fouling by textiles and plastic film, and the introduction of an additional shredder. Comparison of mass and energy balances for the plant at the beginning and end of the operational period, after improvements had been made, demonstrates an increase in the rate of throughput of waste, significant improvements in the recovery of recyclable materials and fuel products, a reduction in the amount of residual material being sent to landfill and a reduction in the process energy used
1747-6526
179-190
Stringfellow, A.
024efba8-7ffc-441e-a268-be43240990a9
Powrie, W.
600c3f02-00f8-4486-ae4b-b4fc8ec77c3c
Castano-Tejada, W.
6b6228d0-8678-4f4d-9b0b-54110901d84e
Whatmore, S.
ace8f5f5-d098-44b9-ade5-f90e95303714
Gilbert, A.
f3c617ab-bd97-4b99-81b4-9d4c3d7dea23
Manser, R.
b12c9963-dcd1-46fa-a533-ac5a2c3a88fd
Maslen, R.
a96dae35-70b0-4709-926a-0577f0216be3
Stringfellow, A.
024efba8-7ffc-441e-a268-be43240990a9
Powrie, W.
600c3f02-00f8-4486-ae4b-b4fc8ec77c3c
Castano-Tejada, W.
6b6228d0-8678-4f4d-9b0b-54110901d84e
Whatmore, S.
ace8f5f5-d098-44b9-ade5-f90e95303714
Gilbert, A.
f3c617ab-bd97-4b99-81b4-9d4c3d7dea23
Manser, R.
b12c9963-dcd1-46fa-a533-ac5a2c3a88fd
Maslen, R.
a96dae35-70b0-4709-926a-0577f0216be3

Stringfellow, A., Powrie, W., Castano-Tejada, W., Whatmore, S., Gilbert, A., Manser, R. and Maslen, R. (2011) Mechanical heat treatment of municipal solid waste. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Waste and Resource Management, 164 (3), 179-190. (doi:10.1680/warm.2011.164.3.179).

Record type: Article

Abstract

To meet the requirements of the EU landfill directive, which prohibits the disposal of waste to landfill without prior treatment, various types of waste management processes have been proposed. This paper describes the detailed investigation and analysis of a plant employing a process known as mechanical heat treatment. The plant was built, operated for a pilot period and monitored as part of Defra’s new technologies demonstrator programme. The plant treated 20 500 t of household residual waste, through a combination of heat treatment and mechanical separation technology, to produce solid recovered fuels and recyclables (glass, plastics, ferrous and non-ferrous metals). It is shown that mechanical heat treatment can be an effective and efficient way of processing mixed municipal solid wastes, but the details of the plant and process are crucially important. Modifications to the plant were made as a result of experience gained during the initial phase of operation, including the redesign of some of the equipment to avoid fouling by textiles and plastic film, and the introduction of an additional shredder. Comparison of mass and energy balances for the plant at the beginning and end of the operational period, after improvements had been made, demonstrates an increase in the rate of throughput of waste, significant improvements in the recovery of recyclable materials and fuel products, a reduction in the amount of residual material being sent to landfill and a reduction in the process energy used

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More information

Published date: 1 August 2011
Organisations: Civil Maritime & Env. Eng & Sci Unit

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 186585
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/186585
ISSN: 1747-6526
PURE UUID: efeed781-a4cf-4232-a93e-65e02dddc26a
ORCID for A. Stringfellow: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-8873-0010
ORCID for W. Powrie: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-2271-0826

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 13 May 2011 15:34
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:01

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Contributors

Author: A. Stringfellow ORCID iD
Author: W. Powrie ORCID iD
Author: W. Castano-Tejada
Author: S. Whatmore
Author: A. Gilbert
Author: R. Manser
Author: R. Maslen

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