A New Re-Fuel System to Process High Water Content Waste to Solid Fuel Using Superheated Steam

The increase of waste and the dryness of natural resources including fossil fuels have become serious problems for the sustainable development of industrial activities and our daily living. A great deal of human effort has been put into the careful use of finite resources and environmental impact reduction. The appropriate processing and the effective use of waste are really in demand in light of our social responsibility for manufacturing and energy development. In addition, the construction of a new recycle system for production is also important from the standpoint of the manufacturer’s responsibility. A procedure is being developed to process industrial and municipal wet wastes to solid fuel, called Refuse paper & plastic fuel (RPF), using superheated steam. A drying system using superheated steam is drawing much attention for use with drying high water content materials due to its high thermal efficiency. A material recycle system for processing high water content waste to solid fuel will be introduced in the present study using a demonstration system, and the optimum conditions for the system operation will be examined. The temperature and the quantity of superheated steam required for material drying are evaluated, and the energy consumption and emissions from the system are theoretically estimated and compared. The purpose of this paper is to test-operate a practical waste recycle system, and the results of this new system are compared with the results from a waste incinerator. The effectiveness of a drying system using superheated steam is shown from the standpoint of the reduction of CO2 emissions and energy consumption for the waste processing.Copyright © 2008 by ASME