Partitioning of Elements by Refuse Processing

With today's integrated waste management plans, many communities are looking seriously at material and energy recovery from municipal solid waste. Uncertainties that exist include the effectiveness of unit processes for metals removal and future regulations of heavy metals, especially in combustion processes in both the combustion gases and the ash. From the summer of 1988 to the fall of 1989 refuse‐derived fuel and various residue streams from refuse processing were tested for their elemental compositions at the municipal solid waste (MSW) refuse‐derived fuel (RDF) plants at Madison, Wis. and Hartford, Conn. The results indicate that refuse processing at both plants reduces concentrations of most of the 27 elements tested and their flow to the combustion process in the RDF product, compared to their flow in raw or incoming refuse. Each element must be looked at individually, however, regarding the extent of its diversion and the effectiveness of the various processes in partitioning that element.