ABSTRACT
In the early stages of the operation of the St. Louis project, the only treatments accorded the raw refuse (MSW) in the production of Refuse-Derived Fuel (RDF) were size reduction and magnetic separation. In the U. S. the first full-scale utilization of RDF took place in a project begun in 1972 and conducted jointly by the city of St. Louis and the Union Electric Company. Types of RDF produced in modern plants are functions of equipment design, arrangement, and operation. They generally fall into three broad groups: coarse RDF, "fluff RDF", and densified RDF. In the production of "dust RDF", the secondary size reduction is accomplished by means of a ball mill. Densified RDF ("d-RDF") is the term applied to "fluff RDF" that has been extruded into pellets or cubettes. RDF has been used with success as a supplement to coal in a stoker-fired furnace and somewhat less successfully in suspension burning.
