REVIEW - BURNING REFUSE-DERIVED FUEL IN A ROTARY CEMENT KILN

In cement kilns, combustion takes place under very high flame temperat ures and relatively long residence times. These conditions are favoura ble for the burning of refuse waste. The purpose of this note is to re view the combustion and pollutant emission implications of using such a fuel as a supplementary source of heat in a cement kiln. Based on te chnical and environmental considerations, the analysis of burning refu se-derived fuel (RDF) in a cement kiln shows that no special firing te chnology has to be installed except that of the RDF handling system, t hat there is an upper limit to the total fuel consumption (no more tha n 30 per cent) for firing RDF and that there is no increase in the emi ssion levels of air pollutants (including acid gases, dioxins, furans, etc.). At present, there seems to be no economical advantage in burni ng RDF. However, if municipal solid waste (MSW) is generated in large amounts and financial support is provided by the local authority to co ver the investment/operating costs, burning RDF in cement kilns will b ecome economically attractive as well as feasible.