64 FUEL PREPARATION

RDF production and utilisation in IndiaThe production of refuse-derived fuels (RDFs) from municipal solid waste (MSW) offers one solution to address the growing waste issue in countries with increasing populations such as India. At the same time, these RDFs enable the cement industry to substitute fossil fuels and reduce its CO

2 emissions.

n by Palash Kumar Saha and Dr Kåre Helge Karstensen, SINTEF, Norway, and Kannan Vairavan and Vinoth Balakumar, CII-GBC, India

INTERNATIONAL CEMENT REVIEW DECEMBER 2017 © TRADESHIP PUBLICATIONS LTD, 2017

At present municipal solid waste (MSW) in India is generally unsegregated

with high moisture content, low calorific value, odour and a wide range of particle size. According to a planning commission task force report in 2014,1 of the 62Mt of MSW generated in urban India, 12Mt is combustible fraction which can be potentially converted into refuse-derived fuel (RDF), thereby replacing 8Mt of coal. Currently, more than 30 per cent of India’s population live in cities and this figure is projected to rise to 50 per cent by 2050.

To dump 62Mt of MSW without treatment, 1240ha per year of precious land is required. With a projected MSW generation of 165Mt by 2031, the land requirement for creating landfill space for 20 years (considering a 10m-high waste pile) could be 66,000ha. Until the reporting year 2013-14 of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) study,2 there are 22 RDF plants in operation. A CPCB study in 20163 revealed that presently 90 per cent of MSW is collected and 25 per cent is processed or treated. Urban local bodies spend about 60-70 per cent of total expenditure on street sweeping, 20-30 per cent on transportation, and less than five per cent on final disposal of waste.

The objective of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ or ‘Clean India Mission’ is to achieve 100 per cent scientific management of MSW in selected towns across the country. To deliver on the promises of this mission, RDF production and RDF utilisation in the cement industry offers a sustainable waste management option.

RDF productionThe principle of RDF production is recovering quality fuel fractions from the waste, particularly through the removal of recyclable particles such as metal and glass, and converting the raw waste into a more usable form of fuel with uniform particle size and higher calorific value than raw MSW. The required RDF quality

Input waste quality for RDF and compost production at Ramky Enviro Engineers’ Hyderabad facility, India

Table 1: quality of MSW in India1

Year MSW type and volume (Mta)

Biodegrad-able waste

Paper Plastic/ Rubber

Metal Glass Rags Others Inert

1996 42.21 3.63 0.6 0.49 0.6 45.13

2005 47.43 8.13 9.22 0.50 1.01 4.49 4.02 25.16

2011 42.51 9.63 10.11 0.63 0.96 17.00Source: Planning Commission, 2014

65FUEL PREPARATION

© TRADESHIP PUBLICATIONS LTD, 2017 DECEMBER 2017 INTERNATIONAL CEMENT REVIEW

is determined by the end use of the fuel. For example, the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD), now called the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, specifies the broad specification of RDF

suitable for the Indian cement plants as follows:4

• moisture – preferably < 20 per cent• size – 2D: <120mm, 3D: <70mm depending on the process limitations of

the specific cement plant• chlorine – preferably <0.7 per cent, depending on the particular raw mix and fuel mix• calorific value – preferably >3000kcal/kg (the calorific value of RDF produced in Europe is in the range of 4000-6000kcal/kg)• sulphur – <2 per cent, however this depends on the particular raw mix and fuel mix• free of restricted items such as PVC, explosives, batteries, aerosol containers and bio-medical waste.The quantity of RDF that can be

produced per tonne of MSW varies depending on the type of collection, pre-processing and composition of the waste source. The usual yield of RDF from mixed MSW is in the range of 20-30 per cent although if the waste is properly

Table 2: equipment for separation, size classification and size reduction of MSW to produce RDF

Concept Technique Materials

Trommels or drum screen Size classification Paper, plastic, organics, glass, fines

Disc screen and vibrating screen Size classification Paper, plastic, organics, glass, fines

Manual separation Visual examination PVC, contaminants, oversize materials

Magnetic separation Magnetic properties Ferrous metals

Eddy current separation Electrical conductivity Non-ferrous metals

Wet separation technology Differential densities Plastics, organics will float; stones, glass will sink

Air classification Weight Plastics, paper, stones, glass

Ballistic separation Density and elasticity Plastics, paper, stones, glass

Optical separation Diffraction Specific plastic polymers

ShredderShearing action of knives or hooks at

slow speed with high torque(+) 70 or 80 mm combustible fraction

Bag splitter Gentle shredder to split plastic bags Plastic bags

Waste screening by 70mm trommel

+70mm fraction for RDF

-70mm fraction for compost

Processed RDF for cement plant

Unprocessed RDF stored in yard

Windrow aerobic composter

Moisture and gas loss

Compost screening by 20mm and 4mm

trommel

+20mm and +4mm fraction sent to landfill

as rejects

Figure 1: mechanical biological treatment process for RDF and compost production at Ramky Enviro Engineers

-4mm fraction as compost

Trommel screen at Ramky’s Hyderabad facility

66 FUEL PREPARATION

INTERNATIONAL CEMENT REVIEW DECEMBER 2017 © TRADESHIP PUBLICATIONS LTD, 2017

segregated, a yield of 80-90 per cent can be achieved. Depending on the need of the end user, RDF fluff is further processed in the densification unit to produce RDF pellets. A material recovery facility, depending on the level of complexity, will consist of a combination of unit processes as shown in Table 2, in varying degrees of mechanisation.

Ramky Enviro Engineers Ltd is one of the leading providers of waste management services in India. Its Hyderabad facility receives and processes 4500tpd of MSW from Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation to produce RDF and compost. Approximately 45 per cent of the incoming waste is +70mm fraction which is processed to RDF and sent to cement plants in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. A quarter of the waste is lost as moisture or gas, 7-8 per cent is converted to compost and 16 per cent is sent to landfill as compost rejects. This waste is processed to the following quality parameters:

• moisture – <20 per cent• calorific value – >3500kcal/kg • ash – <12 per cent• chlorine – <0.5 per cent. The UltraTech Jaipur RDF facility

can produce 150tpd of RDF from 500tpd of MSW delivered by Jaipur Municipal Corporation. The final RDF produced has the following specification:

• size – <50mm• calorific value – 3000-3500kcal/kg • moisture content – 10-20 per cent • bulk density – 0.2t/m3. 4

One of the RDF analyses from the Goa MSW treatment facility shows the following quality:

• moisture – 37.4per cent

• calorific value – 7266kcal/kg• ash – 13.9 per cent • Cl – 0.54 per cent.5 In the facility, which is fully compliant

with the Solid Waste Management (SWM) rules of 2016, RDF is obtained from the following processes:

1. Old dumped MSW is remediated using multi-deck vibratory screens on the site.2. Mixed MSW is segregated using OREX (organic extrusion press) whereby the segregated organic fraction goes into the fermenter (composting drums) and the dry fraction goes on to the RDF line consisting of magnetic separator, flip flow screen and wind sifter. 3. The +30mm fraction is used for RDF production, while the -30mm fraction is

sent for compost production.The calculations suggest that the cost

of setting up a 500tpd MSW mechanical biological treatment producing 150tpd RDF and 50tpd compost would cost INR250m (US$4m) with a payback period of 9-10 years. The cost of setting up a 100tpd RDF feeding system in a cement plant would be INR150m (US$2.5m) with a payback period of 7-8 years.

In line with the new SWM Rules of 2016, local bodies have to set up facilities for segregation, collection, treatment and disposal of wastes in an environmentally-sound manner. The non-recyclable waste with calorific value of 1500kcal/kg or more will not be land-filled, and only used for generating energy either through RDF or by giving away as feedstock for preparing RDF. The high-calorific value wastes will be used for co-processing in the cement industry or thermal power plants. All industrial units using fuel and located within 100km of an RDF plant will arrange within six months from the date of notification of the rules to replace at least five per cent of their fuel requirement by the RDF produced in this way.

Utilisation of RDF in cement kilnsRecovery of wastes and substitution of coal has only recently been practiced in India’s cement industry. The thermal substitution rate (TSR) is estimated to average ~2.5 per cent.

Ramky Hyderabad sends 300tpd of RDF to cement plants in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. UltraTech’s Vikram cement plant in Madhya Pradesh uses 6-7tph of

Figure 2: process of RDF production at UltraTech’s RDF facility in Jaipur, India

Ballistic separator at UltraTech’s RDF plant in Jaipur

MSW unloading and storage

Manual inspection

Primary size reduction

0-1000mm to 0-200mm

Magneticseparation

Trommel screening

Ballistic separation

Secondary size reduction 0-50mm

RDF fluff

67FUEL PREPARATION

© TRADESHIP PUBLICATIONS LTD, 2017 DECEMBER 2017 INTERNATIONAL CEMENT REVIEW

RDF from the RDF facility in Jaipur. The Goa MSW treatment facility sends 30tpd of RDF to ACC Wadi for co-processing. RDF is always fed to the calciner.

ACC’s Madukkarai cement plant in Tamil Nadu has associated with Madukkarai special grade panchayat (local body) and NGOs in Madukkarai village for door-to-door waste collection of 4-5tpd of MSW, waste segregation into eight different categories, composting of organic waste, recycling of plastic and paper, and co-processing of high calorific value non-recyclable fraction in the cement kiln.7 The small-scale public-private partnership employs women and benefits close to 45,000 citizens.

MSW processing companies cover their costs from tipping fees paid by the municipality and from the sale of RDF and compost. For a cement plant, the substitution benefit of replacing fossil fuels with RDF must outweigh the material cost, kiln and equipment upgrades, pre-processing (if required), costs towards sampling and testing of RDF as well as other operational and administrative costs. The increasing cost of coal/petcoke and the potential price of CO2 emissions (via emission trading schemes) will further enhance the use of RDF in the cement industry.

The use of RDF is essential if the Indian cement industry is to achieve a higher TSR; 30 per cent of alternative fuel mix. To achieve a five per cent TSR by 2020, ~1.25Mt of RDF would be needed by the cement industry, equivalent to 2000t of RDF for every million tonne of cement produced. Similarly, to achieve a TSR of 20 per cent in 2030, 7Mt of RDF would be needed, equivalent to 7500t of RDF for every million tonne of cement produced.

Environmental considerations Both nitrogen and sulphur content are lower in RDF compared to coal and petcoke. In UltraTech’s Vikram cement plant the average NOx emission was six per cent lower when using RDF than the plant’s baseline emission.9 A further study shows that mercury emissions increase when substituting 50 per cent of the petcoke with RDF but remain still well below the limits set out in the Waste Incineration Directive.6

A high chlorine content in RDF may be detrimental for the process and emissions, but volatile alkali chlorides can be controlled by installing a bypass. However, the increased alkali chloride content limits the recycling level of the bypass dust, which is normally re-introduced into the kiln.

India’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has notified emission limit values for cement plants co-processing wastes for the following parameters: dust/particulate matter, SO2, NOx, HCl, HF, TOC, heavy metals and PCDD/PCDFs.7 The installation of continuous emission monitoring systems (CEMS) is mandatory in the cement kiln stack for particulate matter, SO2 and NOx in the first phase with data uplinked to State and Central Pollution Control Boards.

ConclusionThere is a need for effective implementation of SWM rules and integrated MSW management including cement kiln co-processing. In addition, to improve the yield of RDF produced, source segregation of MSW is essential. A regular supply of MSW to RDF plants and quality RDF to cement plants at an agreed price is essential for optimising the return on investment.

In terms of investing in the set-up of RDF plants, real partnerships between private sector and local government will bring greater efficiency and enhanced performance. The funding issue can be addressed by grants or viability gap

funding under India’s Smart Cities initiative and the Clean India Mission.

sintef is currently working on a Norwegian government-funded project in India named “Co-processing of Alternative Fuels and Resources in the Cement Industry: Phase II”, 2017-20. One of the objectives of the project is to demonstrate the potential to increase the TSR by using RDF out of MSW and dried sewage sludge. CII-GBC will assist sintef in describing the actual production and use of RDF, the potential in optimised utilisation and current barriers, and in conducting demonstration trials. n

RefeRenCeS1 PLANNING COMMISSION (2014) Report of the task force on water to energy (volume 1)- in the context of integrated MSW management, May. 2 CPCB (2015) Consolidated annual review report on implementation of Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000, Annual review report: 2013-14.3 CPCB (2016) The National Action Plan for Municipal Solid Waste Management, In compliance with Hon’ble National Green Tribunal Order Dated 5th February, 2015 in the Matter of OA No. 199 of 2014, Almitra H. Patel &Anr. Vs Union of India &Ors.4 MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS (2016) Municipal Solid Waste Management Manual, prepared by Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organisation (CPHEEO) in association with GIZ. 5 DEUTSCHE GESELLSCHAFT FüR INTERNATIONALE ZUSAMMENARBEIT – GIZ (2013) Status Paper on Utilisation of Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) in India. Indo-German Environment Partnership.6 KAPOOR, A (2017) ‘Case Study on India’s First SWM 2016 fully Compliant MSW Plant at Goa’, SFC Environmental Technologies Pvt Limited, Proceedings of 3rd CMA International Conference on AFR materials in cement industry, towards realizing Swachh Bharat Dream, 23-24 March 2017, New Delhi, India. 7 SUNDAR, S (2016) ‘Co-processing of SCF to solve community SWM issue’, ACC Ltd, Madukkarai Cement Works in: Proceedings of CII waste management summit, 23-24 March 2017, New Delhi, India. http://www.greenbusinesscentre.com/site/ciigbc/viewprest.jsp?eventid=513834&event=513834&event=dd&dated=4743978 MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (2016) ‘Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016’ in: Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section- 3, Sub-section (ii), Government of India, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, New Delhi. 9 MOHAPATRA, BN (sd) Successful Utilization of processed Municipal Solid Waste (RDF) as an alternate fuel in cement kiln, Aditya Birla Group, UltraTech Vikram Cement Works in: Proceedings of CII-GBC Workshop on Co-processing in Cement Plants, Waste to Alternative Fuels & Raw Materials, 23 November 2011, Jaipur, India.10 GENON, G AND BRIZIO, E (2008) ‘Perspectives and limits for cement kilns as a destination for RDF’ in: Waste Management, 28, p2375-2385.11 MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (2016) GSR 497 (E) 10 May 2016 in: Gazette of India. New Delhi, India: Government of India.

“The use of RDF is essential if the Indian cement industry is to achieve a higher TSR. To achieve a five per cent TSR by 2020, ~1.25Mt of RDF would be needed by the cement industry, equivalent to 2000t of RDF for every million tonne of cement produced. Similarly, to achieve a TSR of 20 per cent in 2030, 7Mt of RDF would be needed, equivalent to 7500t of RDF for every million tonne of cement produced.”

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Building Bulletin is published monthly by:International Cement Review Old King’s Head Court, 15 High Street, Dorking, Surrey, RH4 1AR, UK.Tel: +44 (0) 1306 740363/383 Fax: +44 (0) 1306 740660Email: info@CemNet.comwww.CemNet.comICR BUILDING BULLETIN n OCTOBER 2016

1

The monthly newsletter covering the building materials sector

OCTOBER 2016 n ISSUE 226

ContentsLime industry continues to innovateSteel decline hits sector hard 2Aggregates consumption to hit 62BntGrowing trend for recycled aggregates

2Cemex opens new UK quarry New sand and gravel quarry to serve Nottinghamshire 2New concrete standard from ASTM International standard to improve concrete production 2CECE congress predicts growthEuropean construction machinery sector to expand by 5-10% in 2016 3Zimbabwe tackles pavement crisisCalls for concrete to replace asphalt as road network crumbles 3Accenture launches new apps New digital services for OEMs 3Breedon Group scoops AIM award Recognised for Hope transaction 3Caterpillar: US$1bn Africa expansionReveals long-term investment 3CDE and Cemex clean up aggregatesFour new UK washing projects 4LafargeHolcim and XtreeE in 3D first3D printed concrete structure 4British Gypsum upgrades Selby site 4UK pledges GBP3bn to tackle housingNew initiative from Kier Living 4EQAR win for GB Energy Holding 4

Housing start jitters in UK, USA, Canada and JapanTHE NUMBER OF housing starts and new planning applications in central London dropped

significantly in the first six months of 2016, according to JLL, a specialist in commercial

real estate services and investment management. The closing quarter of 2015 saw 5260

starts across central London, falling to 1840 in 1Q16 and declining further to 1830 in 2Q16,

representing a slowdown of 65 per cent. The number of units under construction in the

area also contracted, falling from 34,300 in 1Q16 to 33,920 in 2Q16, the first quarterly drop

recorded in four years. “It is true to say that the number of starts was beginning to ease slightly towards the end

of 2015, but the new additional home Stamp Duty charge and the Brexit decision look set to

reverse all the good work of the past few years,” says Neil Chegwidden, director of research,

JLL. The performance is reportedly representative of the wider trend across Greater London.

US housing starts also fell more than expected in August as building activity declined after

two straight months of growth. According to the US Commerce Department, housing starts

fell 5.8 per cent in August, compared to the previous month, to an annual rate of 1.142m.

Building permits also dropped, falling 0.4 per cent to a seasonally-adjusted level of 1.139m.

Both came in below economist predictions. The August decrease was reportedly driven in

part by a sharp decline in the south, which was hit by heavy rain and flooding. There was some good news with permits for single-family homes increasing by 3.7 per cent

in August, its largest gain since June 2014. This put single-family permits up by 8.4 per cent in

the year so far, with single-family starts also recording a rise of 9.1 per cent in 8M16. Housing starts in Canada also declined in August as construction of multi-unit dwellings

slowed in most regions, led by lower activity in Alberta and Manitoba, according to Canada

Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). August housing starts were at a seasonally-

adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 182,703, down 6.5 per cent from July’s rate of 194,663. The

six-month moving average for housing starts in August was a SAAR of 195,640, a fall of 2.8 per

cent when compared to July’s rate of 201,379. Multiple urban starts slowed by 7.3 per cent to

111,378, falling in the Prairies, British Columbia, Ontario and Atlantic Canada but increasing

in Quebec. Single detached urban starts were recorded at 56,501 units while rural starts

were estimated at 14,824 units. Meanwhile, in Japan, although housing starts rose in August the growth was at a much

lower pace than expected. Following a spike in July of 8.9 per cent, analysts had predicted

a rise of 7.29 per cent in August, but the real figure came in at 2.5 per cent, according to

the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Construction orders received by 50 big

contractors, however, surged by 13.8 per cent in August, following a 10.9 per cent plunge in

the previous month.

Japan hikes infrastructure spend by extra US$32bnJAPAN’S PARLIAMENT HAS approved a further US$34bn to fund infrastructure spending

under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s economic stimulus package. This is in addition to the

US$61bn pledged in August this year to revive the Japanese economy by doubling the

number of tourists visiting the country. With the aim of reaching 40m visitors by the Tokyo

Summer Olympics in 2020, the spending will be concentrated on expanding ports to

accommodate large cruiseships and increase passenger numbers from 1.1m in 2015 to 5m by

2020, boosting airport capacity in the Tokyo area and regional economies, and strengthening

transportation hubs. The government will also provide loans to help bring forward the completion of a Nagoya-

Osaka magnetic levitation link by eight years, from its original completion date of 2045. The

Tokyo-Nagoya segment of the route is due to open in 2027 while the extension to Osaka is set

to start construction in 2035.

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