Comparing different reaction models for combustion kinetics of solid recovered fuel

Possible utilization of SRF (solid recovered fuel) in the energy industry is a widely investigated topic, because even though it is economically feasible, its complex reactions make a steady operation hard to maintain. SRF is prepared as a mixture of the well-combustible (but not recyclable) parts of municipal and industrial waste, which consists of mainly various papers, plastics and textiles with very different combustion characteristics. To describe the kinetics of a complex sample like this, the utilization of more advanced methods is recommended. In this work, genetic algorithm was used to fit four different reaction models to thermogravimetric data measured in oxidative atmosphere, and the results were compared. It was concluded that the tested distributed activation energy model and the simple and expanded nth-order models offer only a slightly better fitting value for this special sample, which promotes the usage of the simpler first-order model.