Title
Combustion Emissions from d-RDF (Densified-Refuse Derived Fuel) Pellets: Bench-Scale Studies
Other titles
Natural Resources Research Institute Technical Report
Publisher
University of Minnesota Duluth
Abstract
A series of smoldering combustion tests were performed on samples of d-RDF (densifiedrefuse
derived fuel) and clean wastepaper pellets over the temperature range of 400°-800°C in
l00°C increments. These tests attempted to simulate the inadequate combustion conditions often
found in small industrial or residential airtight heating stoves A high value of 729 pg/g of
2,3,7,8 TCDD (dioxin) was produced in the replicate 700°C (- l,250°F) tests on the d-RDF
pellets. At 800°C no dioxin was detected in the ash samples. The d-RDF ash also contained
a variety of heavy metals in significant amounts.
The clean wastepaper pellets, by contrast, produced a clean ash over the same smoldering
(low-oxygen) combustion temperatures. The ash from these pellets contained low levels of both
the primary dioxin and the heavy metals.
While it appears that the wastepaper pellets are suitable for a convenience fuel for small
industrial or residential heating stoves, the d-RDF pellets do not seem suitable for this purpose.
The d-RDF pellets seem to be best utilized in larger furnace industrial and institutional
applications where proper combustion and stoichiometric controls can be maintained. This
would ensure that the dioxins are destroyed by the high temperature combustion conditions and
the ash and flue dust materials can be properly managed.
Series/Report Number
NRRI Technical Report;
NRRI/TR-94/02
Funding information
Natural Resources Research Institute, University of Minnesota, Duluth, 5013 Miller Trunk Highway, Duluth, MN 55811; Funded by the Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCMR)
Suggested Citation
Leak, Vance G.
(1994).
Combustion Emissions from d-RDF (Densified-Refuse Derived Fuel) Pellets: Bench-Scale Studies.
University of Minnesota Duluth.
Retrieved from the University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy,
https://hdl.handle.net/11299/188522.