Numerical Simulation of Refuse-Derived Fuel Thermo-Chemical Conversion in a Waste-to-Energy Plant

Waste management is a major issue resulting in economic costs and environmental impact. Among different waste treatments, incineration is the solution for energy recovery in terms of both electric power and heat generation. Thermo-chemical conversion of organic materials, as biomass or Refuse-Derived Fuel (RDF), is a typical two-phase process with the solid material subjected to concurring sub-processes as drying and release of volatile compounds, and the released syngas undergoing gaseous combustion. In the present work, a numerical model for the simulation of the RDF thermal treatment in incineration plants is developed. The assessment of the model is achieved on experimental data comparison, and a parametric analysis that studies the influence of different partitions between the drying and gasification zones on the grid and different values of the wall convective heat transfer coefficient is performed. Both a reduced and a detailed kinetic scheme are employed to simulate gaseous combustion.