Bioresource Technology 101 (2010) 1522–1527

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Bioresource Technology
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/biortech

Recovery of plastic wastes from dumpsite as refuse-derived fuel and its utilization
in small gasification system
Chart Chiemchaisri a,*, Boonya Charnnok a, Chettiyappan Visvanathan b
a
Department of Environmental Engineering/National Center of Excellence for Environmental and Hazardous Waste Management, Faculty of Engineering,
Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, Thailand
b
School of Environment, Resources and Development, Asian Institute of Technology, Pathumthani 12120, Thailand

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: An effort to utilize solid wastes at dumpsite as refuse-derived fuel (RDF) was carried out. The produced
Received 27 April 2009 RDF briquette was then utilized in the gasification system. These wastes were initially examined for their
Received in revised form 14 August 2009 physical composition and chemical characteristics. The wastes contained high plastic content of 24.6–
Accepted 18 August 2009
44.8%, majority in polyethylene plastic bag form. The plastic wastes were purified by separating them
Available online 15 September 2009
from other components through manual separation and trommel screen after which their content
increased to 82.9–89.7%. Subsequently, they were mixed with binding agent (cassava root) and trans-
Keywords:
formed into RDF briquette. Maximum plastic content in RDF briquette was limit to 55% to maintain phys-
Dumpsite
Waste to energy
ical strength and maximum chlorine content. The RDF briquette was tested in a down-draft gasifier. The
Gasification produced gas contained average energy content of 1.76 MJ/m3, yielding cold gas efficiency of 66%. The
Plastic wastes energy production cost from this RDF process was estimated as USD0.05 per kWh.
Refuse-derived fuel Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction product manufacturing is not possible because their physical prop-

Open dumping is still the most commonly used disposal meth-
ods for municipal solid wastes in developing countries. For exam-
ple, approximately 65% of collected municipal solid wastes in
Thailand is being disposed in open dumpsites (Asian Institute of
Technology, 2004). Rapid exhaustion of available space for dispos-
ing wastes and public opposition against developing new waste
disposal site are creating crisis in waste management operation.
An approach involving the practice of waste minimization and
recycling is needed to extend the service time of existing waste
disposal site. Waste mining provides opportunity to provide dis-
posal space for new coming wastes and recycle of valuable materi-
als. It evolves the excavation, transfer and processing of buried
wastes taken from an active or closed landfill or dumpsite. This will
also help eliminating potential contaminant sources, cost reduc-
tion in post-closure monitoring (Hogland et al., 2004).
Refuse-derived fuel (RDF) is a well-known alternative fuel pro-
duced from the combustibles in municipal solid wastes which are
composed of waste plastic and other materials such as textiles,
wood, soil, etc. compatibility exists for several reasons related to
economic, environment, political and social aspects (Chang et al.,
1997). Energy recovery as RDF is a preferred option for utilizing
plastic wastes when their potential recycling as raw material for
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +66 2 942 8555x1010; fax: +66 2 579 0730.
E-mail address: fengccc@ku.ac.th (C. Chiemchaisri).
erties have been damaged during long exposure to sunlight. To
produce densified RDF from plastic wastes (ASTM, 2006), it is dif-
ficult to obtain briquette with good physical strength for its deliv-
ery off the site by using only screw compactor. Usually other
binding agent must be mixed with plastic wastes before briquette
formation. Well-known agents are molasses fibrous and oily or-
ganic wastes, sawdust, bitumen, pitch, sulfite liquor, starch, lime-
stone, dolomite, etc. (Yaman et al., 2001). Biomass usually has
fibrous structure and contains oily sticky components which facil-
itate to form a more dense bulk should be increased to a degree at
which transportation expenses becomes less and used facilitate
ease of feeding for incineration (Yaman et al., 2000).
For RDF utilization, gasification technology has been applied to
the production of energy from solid wastes (Belgiorno et al., 2003).
This thermo-chemical process converts solid carbon based mate-
rial into a combustible gaseous product containing CO2, CO, H2,
CH4 and other trace gases. The producer gas can be used for heat-
ing, lighting and power generation. Recently, a number of research-
ers have also applied the gasification system to plastic wastes
together with biomass (Pinto et al., 2002; Aznar et al., 2006). Even
though fluidized and fixed bed steam gasification has proven to be
a possible way of converting biomass and plastic undesirable
wastes and RDF into fuel gases (Pinto et al., 2002; Dalai et al.,
2009), direct gasification using vertical fixed bed gasification sys-
tem and air as gasifying agent is commonly used in developing
countries, especially for biomass utilization (Sheth and Babu,

0960-8524/$ - see front matter Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2009.08.061
 C. Chiemchaisri et al. / Bioresource Technology 101 (2010) 1522–1527
2009). It has an advantage of simple operation and low operating
cost even though low efficiency and diluted gas with relatively
low heating value are their major drawback (Belgiorno et al., 2003).
This study aims at utilizing solid waste from dumpsite by using
simple and low-cost technology applicable to developing coun-
tries. Simple mechanical separation using trommel screen was
used to separate plastic wastes and transforming them into RDF
by a screw compactor. The produced RDF was then utilized in
down-draft fixed bed gasification system which is widely used
for recovering energy from biomass in small industries especially
in Thailand.
2. Methods
To obtain high quality RDF, solid wastes from the open dump-
site were first analyzed for their characteristics. The plastic fraction
was then separated from other contaminated soil fraction for RDF
production through manual and mechanical separation by workers
and trommel screen. The separated plastics were shredded, mixed
with binding materials and formed into briquettes. Details of the
experimental methodology are described as follows.
2.1. Solid waste disposal site
Nonthaburi solid waste disposal site is located at Sai Noi dis-
trict, Nonthaburi province west of Bangkok, Thailand. The site is
operated by Nonthaburi Provincial Organization Administration
and began its operation in 1982 covering an area of 10.9 ha. In
2005, the site area has been extended to 38.6 ha and receives more
than 800 tons of waste on daily basis from municipalities and sub-
district administrative organizations in Nonthaburi province. Since
the start of its operation, solid waste was continuously disposed in
dumpsite area located in the middle of the site. Total depth of
waste pile in the dumping area was about 12–20 m depth, i.e. 7–
10 m above ground and 5–10 m below ground level. After the site
rehabilitation works in 2006, these wastes were disposed in newly
constructed sanitary landfill cells and the open dumping area was
closed. It was estimated that total quantity of solid wastes in the
dumping area was approximately 0.5 million tons.
2.2. Waste sampling and analyses
The dumped wastes at the solid waste disposal site can be
broadly classified into two major fraction according to their dis-
posal age, i.e. 2 and 5 years (sampling site located at the north
end of the dumpsite near leachate treatment system) and 7 and
10 years (sampling site located in other dumpsite area). The sam-
ples were taken from both sites for the experimental activities.
The waste samples were collected and characterized to determine
the physical and chemical characteristics of the wastes at various
locations of the dumpsite to obtain the waste samples of different
ages. For sampling purpose, a backhoe was used to excavate waste
samples. Triplicate samples were taken from each sampling loca-
tions or depths in the waste pile according to their disposal ages.
The locations of waste sampling and approximate waste disposal
age were specified by the site operators.
Solid waste samples were analyzed for their physical and chem-
ical characteristics. The analytical parameters include physical
composition, bulk density, moisture content, volatile solids, sulfur,
chlorine and calorific value. The waste sampling and characteriza-
tion follows the procedures described in ASTM Standard D5231
(2003). For physical composition, approximately 150 kg of waste
sample was collected by quartering method and then manually
characterized for the composition. Bulk density was immediately
determined and approximately 1 kg of waste was separately col-
1523
lected in plastic bag for moisture content determination in the lab-
oratory. The chemical analyses of solid wastes in the laboratory
were performed according to Standard Methods (Soil and Plant
Analysis Council, 1999). The calorific value of wastes was deter-
mined by bomb calorimeter (Parr Instrument Model 1314).
2.3. Solid waste separation
A pilot plant waste separation process was set-up at the solid
waste disposal site. The separation process has a maximum capac-
ity of about 800 kg/h. The solid wastes of 7 years disposal age was
used for the experimentation of waste separation process. The
waste separation process consists of manual separation as pre-
treatment to remove problematic materials such as glass, rubber
or large stones which may upset the operation of subsequent
mechanical separation instrument. The pre-treated wastes were
then fed into a rotary trommel screen to separate plastic and
soil-like materials. The operation of waste separation process
was repeated 6 times for each waste category to obtain the repre-
sentative waste sample for chemical analyses. Triplicate samples
were taken from each waste category for the laboratory analyses.
For mechanical separation, a rotary trommel screen with a
length of 3 and 1 m diameter was used. The trammel screen is in-
clined at 12.7° to the horizontal. A 5-hp motor is used to rotate it in
counter clockwise direction at a speed of 8 rpm. Two screen sizes
were used, i.e. 25 and 50 mm at the inlet and outlet section to sep-
arate non-plastic fraction respectively. Three waste fractions could
be obtained from this mechanical separation steps, i.e. >50 mm
plastic wastes, 25–50 mm soil-like fraction and <25 mm soil-like
fraction. After separation, the separated plastic waste was shred-
ded into small pieces (about 10 mm) by a plastic shredding ma-
chine (APM-3hp-Pulley, Mitsubishi motor).
2.4. Refuse-derived fuel (RDF) briquette production
The formation of RDF briquettes was done by mixing shredded
plastic wastes with cassava root stem. Cassava root stem was
crushed and turned into paste by adding water (1:1 ratio) before
mixing with plastic wastes. The weight ratio of plastic wastes
and cassava root stem (7% moisture) were varied at 1:0.2, 1:0.4,
1:0.6, 1: 0.8, 1.1, 1:1.2, 1:1.4 and 1:1.6. The formation of briquette
(40  40 mm in size) was conducted at room temperature using a
5-hp typical screw compactor. After the production process, they
were stored under ambient conditions for 5 days before their utili-
zation. The moisture content and compressive strength (Wykeham
Farrance Machine Model 8790) of RDF briquette were determined.
Triplicate samples of the RDF containing plastic and cassava root
stem ratio that could successfully form the briquette were sub-
jected to laboratory analyses (proximate analysis, sulfur, chlorine
and calorific value).
2.5. Utilization of RDF in gasification system
The produced RDF was tested in a small-scale down-draft gasi-
fication system. The system comprises of a counter current fixed
bed throat-less gasifier made of stainless steel with an inside diam-
eter of 0.5 and 1.1 m height, air blower, tubing for air and gas flow,
fuel feeding port and ash/char removal pit. The gasifier was oper-
ated nearly at atmospheric pressure during which gas flow and
temperature (in combustion zone and gas outlet tube) were mon-
itored using thermal anemometer and thermocouple temperature
probes (K-CA-JB35), respectively. Air was supplied at either a flow
rate of 30 or 50 m3/h during which triplicate gas samples were ta-
ken at every 1 h interval. Gas analysis was carried out for deter-
mining CO, H2, CH4 and CO2 concentrations using gas
chromatography (Agilent 6890 model, CTR Alltech column, ther-
1524 C. Chiemchaisri et al. / Bioresource Technology 101 (2010) 1522–1527

mal conductivity detector, helium as carrier gas). Cold gas effi- tween waste samples obtained from different depth with lower
ciency was determined using the equation described by Rao et al. percentage of soil-like materials was found in the upper layer of
(2004). the waste pile (2 and 7 years old) as compared to the deeper zone
(5 and 10 years old). Prechthai et al. (2008) studied recycling po-
tential of stabilized municipal solid waste at the same dumpsite
3. Results and discussions and found that the quality of plastic waste fraction with large size
(>50 mm) had high potential for recycling as refuse-derived fuel
3.1. Solid waste composition and characteristics whereas soil fraction with smaller size (<25 mm) can be utilized
as compost.
The waste composition determined from solid waste samples Chemical characteristics of excavated wastes are shown in
with different disposal ages is shown in Table 1. These results indi- Table 2. The moisture content of wastes varied from 34.7% to
cated that plastic and soil-like materials were the major compo- 50.0% (on wet weight basis) whereas volatile solids and ash con-
nents in dumped wastes of all ages. The plastic content varied tent were 36.4–57.2% and 42.8–63.6% on dry weight basis, respec-
from 24.6% to 44.8% whereas soil-like materials were contained tively. Highest volatile solid content was found in plastic wastes as
at 27.9–56.6% of total weight. Among the plastic wastes, polyethyl- compared to other components and their moisture content was
ene plastic carry bags were found highest at 11.9–23.4%. Small
among the lowest as compared to other organic materials contain-
amount of glass, ceramic, rubber, paper and foam were also found ing in the wastes (except rubber). These basic parameters sup-
in the excavated wastes. Some differences among the waste com-
ported their use in energy recovery process provided that the
position of different ages were observed. However, there was no environmental impact such as air pollution arising from their uti-
clear relationship between them. The only distinguishable compo-
lization in thermal processing could be effectively controlled
sition between young (2 years old) and old (5–10 years old) wastes through limiting of harmful substances in wastes. For typical ther-
was the paper component which can be found only in young aged
mal conversion process, primary concern of RDF utilization was
wastes. The bulk densities of excavated wastes were varied be- their sulfur and chlorine content. As the plastic carry bags pre-
tween 249 and 411 kg/m3 depending on plastic wastes and soil-
sented in majority of the plastic wastes, they were further analyzed
like materials percentages. The composition of waste varied be-
for their chlorine and sulfur content which were found to be 0.65–
1.26% and 0.22–0.36%, respectively. Their calorific value was ob-
Table 1 tained as 27.5–38.5 MJ/kg (dry weight basis) were in agreement
Composition of solid wastes from the dumpsite. with typical values for plastic wastes (28–37 MJ/kg) reported in
Tchobanoglous et al. (1993).
Solid waste types Composition (% by wet weight)
2 years old 5 years old 7 years old 10 years old
3.2. Waste characterization in the separation process
Plastic
Carry bags 20.63 11.92 23.38 17.37
Other bags 8.91 4.53 10.54 6.59 The plastic wastes were separated from the soil-like fraction by
Other plastic 7.20 8.20 10.90 11.40 using a rotary trommel screen. In the separation process, 402–
Total 36.75 24.64 44.83 35.34 723 kg/h (579 kg/h on average) of excavated wastes was fed into
Wood 7.66 3.42 9.77 1.20
the separation process. After manual separation, waste quantity
Paper 4.09 0.00 0.00 0.00
Rubber 0.60 0.83 1.18 0.00 of 328–551 kg/h (avg. 456 kg/h) was obtained. The recoverable
Foam 1.75 0.55 0.88 0.60 plastic after trommel separation (>50 mm fraction) was 110–
Clothes 11.51 7.45 10.21 1.80 266 kg/h (avg. 182 kg/h) or approximately 40% of the incoming
Soil-like material 32.90 56.59 27.86 49.10
wastes. The size distribution study of solid waste samples (total
Ceramic 1.19 0.83 0.73 2.99
Glass 1.79 4.03 1.21 4.79
21 samples) obtained during the experiment revealed that about
Metal 1.79 1.66 3.34 4.19 40% of wastes is small than 25 mm, 19% lies in between 25 and
Bulk density (kg/m3) 249 411 306 382
50 mm and the remaining 41% is larger than 50 mm. The larger
waste fraction was subsequently used in RDF briquette production.
Remark: The values shown are averaged from triplicate samples taken. The percentage of recoverable plastic wastes was found much

Table 2
Chemical characteristics of solid wastes from the dumpsite.

Waste types 2 years old 5 years old 7 Years old 10 years old
M VS Ash M VS Ash M VS Ash M VS Ash
Plastics
Carry bags 23.1 87.3 12.7 25.0 63.9 36.1 22.1 79.2 20.8 1.4 38.4 61.6
Other bags 4.6 93.0 7.0 11.4 73.0 27.0 14.1 78.2 21.8 1.3 87.9 12.1
Other plastic 11.6 95.8 4.2 5.0 90.1 9.9 4.5 92.3 7.7 55.2 92.2 7.8
Wood 45.3 91.4 8.6 31.9 37.7 62.3 49.8 84.1 15.9 10.0 84.3 15.7
Paper 50.8 77.9 22.1 – – – – – – – – –
Rubber 5.1 61.8 38.2 6.3 63.4 39.6 5.8 69.3 30.7 – – –
Foam 53.8 87.5 12.5 41.2 76.4 23.6 9.2 72.9 27.1 1.0 78.4 21.6
Clothes 27.1 84.0 16.0 33.3 88.9 11.1 35.5 72.6 27.4 3.1 46.8 53.2
Soil 24.7 48.0 52.0 16.6 25.4 74.6 23.7 19.3 80.7 3.9 24.6 75.4
Ceramic 0.2 4.1 95.9 0.6 0.88 99.2 2.8 8.5 91.5 0.4 2.1 97.9
Glass 0.1 0.2 99.8 0.1 0.2 99.8 0.5 0.1 99.9 0.0 0.1 99.9
Metal 3.7 16.8 83.2 13.5 28.8 71.2 0.8 24.9 75.1 1.6 16.0 84.0
Excavated solid wastes 38.8 38.5 61.5 50.0 57.2 42.8 48.6 36.4 63.6 34.7 40.8 59.2

Remark: Moisture (M) was determined on wet weight basis whereas volatile solids (VS) and ash were determined as % dry weight.
The values shown are averaged from triplicate samples taken.
 C. Chiemchaisri et al. / Bioresource Technology 101 (2010) 1522–1527 1525

higher than initial content in fresh wastes (approximately 20%) as
the degradation of organic wastes and accumulation of non-biode-
gradable plastics in the dumpsite took place over several years
after their disposal.
Table 3 shows the chemical characteristics of separated plastic
wastes. Among all types of plastic wastes, plastic carry bags were
found highest at 38.1%. Total plastic contents in separated wastes
were 82.9–89.7% with the remaining percentages came from other
contaminants mainly soil-like materials attached to the surface of
plastic wastes. The separated plastic wastes exhibited low mois-
ture (0.85–3.46%) and high volatile solid (72.99–91.77%) contents.
Average calorific value of plastic carry bags, other plastic bags and
other plastics were 40.99, 39.33 and 33.38 MJ/kg. Even though
plastic carry bags had highest calorific value but they also con-
tained higher chlorine and sulfur content, i.e. 2.51% and 0.21%
when compared to other plastic wastes. High chlorine and sulfur
can lead to higher emission of acidic gaseous pollutants such as
HCl, SOx and organic chlorinated compounds (e.g. PCDDs and
PCDFs) in the incineration process (Watanabe et al., 2004). Where
the sulfur content in separated plastic wastes was found relatively
low compared to the European standard limit of 0.4% for RDF, the
chlorine contents was considerable higher than 0.5% set in Euro-
pean standard (European Commission-Directorate General Envi-
ronment, 2003). With these limitations, it is suggested that the
separated plastic wastes should be blended with other low chlo-
rine containing materials before being used as RDF in order to com-
ply with the specified limit.
3.3. Formation of RDF briquettes
The cassava root stem is agricultural wastes widely produced in
Thailand and Southeast Asian region (Ngoc and Schnitzer, 2009).
The starch paste made from cassava root stem, when mixed with
plastic wastes, helped holding plastic waste particles together in
briquette form after being compressed by a screw compactor. From
our experimental trial using different plastic wastes: cassava root
ratio, it was found that the weight ratio of cassava root to plastic
wastes of higher than 0.8 is needed for briquette formation. There-
fore, only the plastic wastes to cassava root ratio of 1:0.8, 1:1,
1:1.2, 1:1.4 and 1:1.6 were compared. Table 4 shows the composi-
tion and chemical characteristics of RDF briquettes. It was found
that briquette could be formed with maximum plastic content of
55.56%. At this optimum condition, the average calorific values of
RDF briquettes were determined as 26.0 MJ/kg with sulfur and
chlorine contents of 0.19% and 0.85%, respectively. The characteris-
tics of produced RDF briquettes could meet the specified European
standard in terms of calorific value (>15 MJ/kg), sulfur and chlorine
contents. The compressive strength of produced RDF briquette was
also found good for pile up in storage area and transportation with-
out any damage.
3.4. Utilization of produced RDF in small gasification system
Table 5 shows the gas characteristics and energy recovery when
the produce RDF briquette was applied to small-scale down-draft
gasification system. It was found that when the air flow rate was
supplied at 30 m3/h, the temperature in the system was main-
tained between 439 and 639 °C (504 °C on average). The produced
gas contained CO2 and CO as principal fuel gases while CH4 and H2
presented at much smaller percentages. Average gas yield of
4.7 m3/kg fuel with heating value of 1.49 MJ/m3 was obtained
resulting in a cold gas efficiency of only 32%. When the supplied
air was increased to 50 m3/h, average temperature of combustion
increased to 604 °C and overall performance of the gasifier im-
proved. The produced gas, with increased CO and CH4 contents,
had higher heating value of 1.76 MJ/m3. With an average gas yield
of 8.3 m3/h, cold gas efficiency of 66% was obtained. Na et al.
(2003) examined the performance of fixed bed gasifier applied to
the mixture of plastic and cellulosic materials and reported that
CO and H2 concentrations in produced gas was affected by oxygen
supply rate and bed height. Van Kasteren (2006) also suggested
that maximum yield of CO and H2 could be achieved by minimizing
plastic (PE) content and maximize the temperature.

Table 3
Chemical characteristics of separated plastic wastes.

Parameter Type of plastic

Plastic carry bags Other plastic bags Other plastics
Moisture (%) 3.46 ± 2.24 1.49 ± 1.12 0.85 ± 0.38
VS (% dry weight) 72.99 ± 10.56 83.48 ± 5.96 91.77 ± 6.44
Ash (% dry weight) 27.01 ± 10.56 16.54 ± 6.23 8.23 ± 7.84
Calorific value (MJ/kg) 40.99 ± 1.19 39.33 ± 3.36 33.38 ± 3.35
Chlorine (% dry weight) 2.51 ± 0.70 1.23 ± 0.84 3.95 ± 2.75
Sulfur (% dry weight) 0.21 ± 0.04 0.05 ± 0.04 0.04 ± 0.01

Remark: The values show average ± SD from six separation trials and triplicate sampling each.

Table 4
Composition and chemical characteristics of RDF briquettes.

Parameter Plastic waste:cassava root stem (weight ratio)

1:0.8 1:1 1:1.2 1:1.4 1:1.6
Plastic content (%) 55.56 50.00 45.45 41.67 38.46
Density (kg/m3) 595 674 676 613 587
Moisture (%) 2.95 3.46 3.54 3.94 5.50
VS (%) 84.3 82.2 85.2 86.0 88.8
Fixed carbon (%) 1.2 1.9 1.2 1.4 0.9
Ash (%) 14.5 15.9 13.6 12.6 10.3
S (%) 0.19 0.16 0.16 0.14 0.14
Cl (%) 0.85 0.99 0.97 0.44 0.61
Calorific value (MJ/kg) 26.0 23.8 21.9 22.8 23.2
Compressive strength (kg/cm2) 4.0 4.9 4.1 4.3 4.6

Remark: The values shown are averaged from triplicate samples taken.
1526 C. Chiemchaisri et al. / Bioresource Technology 101 (2010) 1522–1527

Table 5
Gas composition and energy recovery from gasification system.

Parameter 30 m3/h 50 m3/h

Range Avg. (SD) Range Avg. (SD)
Gas composition (% v/v)
CO 9.27–10.94 9.86 (0.93) 8.77–12.83 10.77 (2.03)
H2 0.00–0.05 0.02 (0.03) 0.04–0.10 0.07 (0.03)
CH4 0.76–1.16 0.96 (0.20) 1.08–1.60 1.38 (0.27)
CO2 9.73–12.28 10.74 (1.36) 8.37–11.01 9.29 (1.49)
Heating value (MJ/m3) 1.36–1.61 1.49 (0.13) 1.41–2.08 1.76 (0.34)
Gas yield (m3/kg) 4.2–5.1 4.7 (0.5) 7.8–8.8 8.3 (0.5)
Combustion rate (kg/h dry weight) 5.9–7.1 6.5 (0.6) 5.7–6.4 6.1 (0.4)
Cold gas efficiency (%) 29–37 32 (4.6) 50–77 66 (14)

Remark: The values are obtained from three different sampling periods during steady condition and triplicate samples each.

Table 6
Comparison of electricity production cost from RDF and other fuels.

Fuel type Factor Quantity Production Per unit cost Acknowledgements

(unit/kWh) (unit) cost (USD) (USD/kWh)
RDF (kg): this study This research is financially supported by Swedish International
RDF base 0.13 328 128.1 0.05 Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) under Asian Regional Re-
Solid 0.23 579 search Program on Environmental Technology (ARRPET) and Cana-
waste
dian International Development Agency (CIDA) through CIDA-AIT
base
Coal (kg) 1.00 2,523 36.1 0.014 Southeast Asia Urban Environmental Management Program.
Natural gas 0.23 601 149.5 0.06
(m3)
Fuel oil (l) 0.24 593 288.1 0.11
References
Diesel (l) 0.36 896 587.1 0.23

Remark: The calculation are based on fuel cost in Thailand for 2,520 kWh (as of
2007).
Comparison of energy production cost between RDF and other
fuels using Thailand data was shown in Table 6. From the calcula-
tion, it was found that production cost from RDF was 0.05 USD/
kWh which is comparable to that of natural gas and much cheaper
than those of fuel oil and diesel. This preliminary evaluation re-
veals that the recovery of energy through RDF production from
dumpsite is cost attractive and it could be considered as one of
the feasible options for utilizing energy from solid wastes.
4. Conclusion
Municipal solid wastes from open dumpsite in Thailand were
utilized by transforming them into refuse-derived fuel (RDF) bri-
quette and tested in small-scale down-draft gasification system.
The following conclusion can be drawn from our study.
1. Solid wastes at dumpsite with disposal age between 2 and
10 years old had high plastic content of 24.6–44.8%, majority
in plastic bag form. There was no clear relationship between
solid waste composition and their disposal age. Chemical
characteristics of plastic wastes were found appropriate for
use in energy recovery process provided that their chlorine
content is properly controlled.
2. Manual and trommel screen separation steps separated plas-
tic wastes with 82.9–89.7% purity from which RDF briquette
was formed by mixing with cassava root. The produced RDF
with maximum plastic content of 55.56% had average calo-
rific value of 26.0 MJ/kg with sulfur and chlorine contents
complied with the European standard.
3. The RDF briquette could be utilized in a down-draft gasifica-
tion system for energy recovery. Produced gas with calorific
value of 1.76 MJ/m3 was obtained yielding cold gas efficiency
of 66%. The energy production cost through RDF process was
0.05 USD/kWh.
Asian Institute of Technology, 2004. Municipal Solid Waste Management in Asia,
Asian Regional Research Program on Environmental Technology (ARRPET).
ISBN: 974-417-258-1.
American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), 2006. Standard Definitions of
Terms and Abbreviations Relating to Physical and Chemical Characteristics of
Refuse Derived Fuel, Volume 11.04 Waste Management, Annual Book of ASTM
Standards 2006. ASTM International, West Conshohocken.
ASTM Standard D5231, 2003. Standard Test Method for Determination of the
Composition of Unprocressed Composition, Municipal Solid Waste, Waste
Characterization. ASTM International. doi: 10.15201/D5231-92R03,
www.astm.org.
Aznar, M.P., Caballero, M.A., Sancho, J.S., Fracés, E., 2006. Plastic waste elimination
by co-gasification with coal and biomass in fluidized bed with air in pilot plant.
Fuel Processing Technology 87, 409–420.
Belgiorno, V., De Feo, G., Della Rocca, C., Napoli, R.M.A., 2003. Energy from
gasification of solid wastes. Waste Management 23, 1–15.
Chang, N.B., Chang, Y.H., Chen, W.C., 1997. Evaluation of heat value and its
prediction for refuse-derived fuel. Science of the Total Environment 197, 139–
148.
Dalai, A.K., Batta, N., Eswaramoorthi, I., Schoenau, G.J., 2009. Gasification of refuse
derived fuel in a fixed bed reactor for syngas production. Waste Management
29, 252–258.
European Commission-Directorate General Environment, 2003. Refuse Derived
Fuel, Current Practice and Perspectives: Quality Standards for Solid Recovered
Fuel.
Hogland, W., Marques, M., Nimmermark, S., 2004. Landfill mining and waste
characterization: a strategy for remediation of contaminated area. Journal of
Material Cycles and Waste Management 6, 119–124.
Na, J.I., Park, S.J., Kim, Y.K., Lee, J.G., Kim, J.H., 2003. Characteristics of oxygen-blown
gasification for combustible waste in a fixed-bed gasifier. Applied Energy 75,
275–285.
Ngoc, U.N., Schnitzer, H., 2009. Sustainable solutions for solid waste management in
Southeast Asian Countries. Waste Management 29, 1982–1995.
Pinto, F., Franco, C., Miranda, A.M., Gulyurtlu, I., Cabrita, I., 2002. Co-gasification
study of biomass mixed with plastic wastes. Fuel 81, 291–297.
Prechthai, T., Padmasri, M., Visvanathan, C., 2008. Quality assessment of mined
MSW from an open dumpsite for recycling potential. Resources, Conservation
and Recycling 53, 70–78.
Rao, M.S., Singh, S.P., Sodha, M.S., Dubey, A.K., Shyam, M., 2004. Stoichiometric,
mass, energy and exergy balance analysis of countercurrent fixed-bed
gasification of post-consumer residues. Biomass and Bioenergy 27, 155–171.
Sheth, P.N., Babu, B.V., 2009. Experimental studies on producer gas generation from
wood waste in a downdraft biomass gasifier. Bioresource Technology 100,
3127–3133.
Soil and Plant Analysis Council, 1999. Soil Analysis Handbook of Reference Method.
CRC Press, Washington, DC.
Tchobanoglous, G., Theisen, H., Vigil, S.A., 1993. Integrated Solid Waste
Management, Engineering Principles and Management Issues. McGraw-Hill
Inc., New York.
 C. Chiemchaisri et al. / Bioresource Technology 101 (2010) 1522–1527 1527

Van Kasteren, J.M.N., 2006. Co-gasification of wood and polyethylene with the aim
of CO and H2 production. Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management 8,
95–98.
Watanabe, N., Yamamoto, O., Sakai, M., Fukuyama, J., 2004. Combustible and
incombustible speciation of Cl and S in various components of municipal solid
wastes. Waste Management 24, 623–632.
Yaman, S., Sahan, M., Haykiri-Acma, H., Sesen, K., Kucukbayrak, S., 2000. Production
of fuel briquettes from olive refuse and paper mill waste. Fuel Processing
Technology 68, 23–31.
Yaman, S., Sahan, M., Haykiri-Acma, H., Sesen, K., Kucukbayrak, S., 2001. Fuel
briquettes from biomass-lignite blends. Fuel Processing Technology 72, 1–8.