Refuse Derived Fuel

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A type of Waste Derived Fuel, Refuse Derived Fuel or RDF has been prepared by a treatment process to produce a broad specification fuel, which is still considered to be a waste, that can be used by an EfW plant supplied under a Fuel Supply Agreement. The specification will depend upon the plant to be used, but typically at the most basic level will have had metals and inert materials removed, removal of some recyclables and limited shredding/bag splitting. More refined RDF will have had drying, shredding to a uniform size and Moisture Content reduction. At the very high end of production the RDF will move towards being a Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF).

Picture of loose RDF material, picture from Turmec, all rights reserved
Picture of loose RDF material, picture from Turmec, all rights reserved


Context

A type of Waste Derived Fuel, Refuse Derived Fuel or RDF has been prepared by a treatment process to produce a broad specification fuel, which is still considered to be a waste, that can be used by an EfW plant supplied under a Fuel Supply Agreement. The specification will depend upon the plant to be used, but typically at the most basic level will have had metals and inert materials removed, removal of some recyclables and limited shredding/bag splitting. More refined RDF will have had drying, shredding to a uniform size and Moisture Content reduction. At the very high end of production the RDF will move towards being a Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF).

Composition of Refuse Derived Fuel

We have pulled together a number of specification (spec) sheets to produce give an overall feel for the spec of Refuse Derived Fuel and Solid Recovered Fuel, as shown in the table below. In reality the spec is usually very tightly controlled by the receiving plant.

Measure Units Residual Waste[1] RDF SRF
Net Calorific Value MJ/kg (as received) 9 - 15 10 - 15 >18.5
Moisture wt% (dry basis) 10 - 40 <20 <15
Biomass Content[2] wt% (dry basis) >45 >65 >65
Ash Content wt% (dry basis) 10 - 30 <20 <15
Sulphur wt% (dry basis) < 0.85 <0.5 <0.5
Nitrogen wt% (dry basis) <1.5 <0.8 <0.8
Lead mg/kg <200 <100 <80
Chlorine CI wt% (dry basis) <1.2 <0.6 <0.6
Zinc[3] wt% (dry basis) <0.1    
Sodium and Potassium[3] wt% (dry basis) <0.8    
Mercury mg/kg <2 <1 <0.6
Nickel mg/kg <200 <100 <100
Thallium mg/kg <20 <10 <10
Ferrous and non-ferrous metals wt% (dry basis) <7 <3 <1
Non combustible material wt% (dry basis) <15 <10 <5
Glass wt% (dry basis) <5 <2 <1
Dust <1mm wt% (dry basis) <5 <5 <5
Bulk Density (loose) kg/m3 100 - 275 100 - 175 185
Particle Size (max dimension) mm 500 300 <40

Background to Export of Refuse Derived Fuel

The movement of RDF from the UK, primarily in the EU, commenced in c.2010 and progressively grew up until around 2016 driven by supply-demand and landfill tax in the UK and the economics and spare capacity of EfW plants in the EU. From around 2017 tonnages for export started to drop, with more pronounced drops from 2018 as the supply-demand patterns changed in the UK, some EU countries started to implement taxation on EfW and the cost and complexities of transportation following Brexit increased. The two charts below show the overall patterns of export:

 
CIWM Presidential Report 2018 – RDF Trading in a Modern World
 
RDF and SRF Export - analysis of EA data by Monksleigh
CIWM Presidential Report (2018) Showing Grow in RDF and SRF Export[4] Analysis by Monksleigh of RDF and SRF Exports from England from EA Data

Moving Refuse Derived Fuel and Solid Recovered Fuel from the UK abroad requires compliance with the Transfrontier Shipment Regulations (TFS) and in simple terms requires an application for movement to be made to the relevant authorities that requires a number of key measures to be satisfied before this can occur.

Annual Export from England

The data shown is for export from England and for Waste Code 19 12 10 - combustible waste (refuse derived fuel) as this is the primary code that covers both RDF and SRF tonnage.

It is important to note that some RDF / SRF is exported under the Waste Code 19 12 12 - other wastes (including mixtures of materials) from mechanical treatment of wastes other than those mentioned in 19 12 11, this code is a catch all, and covers any waste from Mechanical treatment not covered by it's own 19 12 waste code and as such has not been included in the numbers below.

Month on Month Export

The graph shows the monthly shipments of RDF along with a trend line showing the trajectory of export.

 
month on month export with trend

Year on Year Differences

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Data Table
Year Tonnage Shipped Increase on Previous Percentage Change
2011 251,451 - -
2012 1,009,972 +758,520 301.7%
2013 1,963,363 +953,390 94.4%
2014 2,661,871 +698,508 35.6%
2015 3,211,636 +549,765 20.7%
2016 3,530,859 +319,222 9.9%
2017 3,452,295 -78,563 -2.2%
2018 3,174,926 -277,269 -8.0%
2019 2,771,981 -402,945 -12.7%
2020 1,881,103 -890,878 -32.1%
2021 1,562,374 -318,729 -16.9%

Exporters

Exporters from the UK.

Company 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

ABN Paris SAS 0.00 2,243.85 0.00 0.00 0.00
Akata Biomass UK Ltd 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Andusia Recovered Fuels Ltd 180,644.45 157,690.27 153,438.94 156,379.83 147,925.02
Armstrongs Environmental Services Ltd 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Associated Waste Management Ltd 53,711.18 39,981.57 49,910.21 6,560.01 21,079.93
Baco-Compak (Norfolk) Ltd 7,076.98 5,062.18 849.14 0.00 0.00
Bagnall & Morris (Waste Services) Ltd 17,115.35 18,667.91 9,253.54 0.00 0.00
Bertling Enviro AB 89,207.56 171,445.30 153,964.36 128,673.41 168,904.82
Biffa Waste Services Ltd 463,101.70 358,290.28 315,622.44 151,637.03 104,444.99
Blakeley's Recycling Ltd 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Boomeco Ltd 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Bywaters (1986) Ltd 24,788.86 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Camreg Ltd 26,170.11 21,182.62 0.00 11,978.86 0.00
Cellmark UK Ltd 14,231.24 1,955.65 0.00 0.00 0.00
Chambers Waste Management PLC 24,906.81 2,553.75 0.00 0.00 0.00
Combineering A/S 4,758.90 13,610.01 6,011.72 1,572.53 0.00
Cory Barking Operations Ltd 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Countrystyle Recycling Ltd 90,848.11 64,260.37 52,411.41 21,621.08 37,945.31
DONG Energy Waste UK Ltd 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Eco-Power Environmental (Hull) Ltd 0.00 0.00 3,658.50 39,618.29 52,642.37
EFO AB 4,932.15 9,834.72 7,045.41 0.00 0.00
Elite Recycling Solutions Ltd 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Enva England Ltd 0.00 0.00 0.00 49.02 3,600.56
Failand Paper Services Ltd 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
FCC Recycling (UK) Ltd 187,943.76 168,850.12 86,387.65 74,523.96 48,541.56
Frimstone Ltd 15,282.08 14,689.89 13,719.27 2,067.59 0.00
Gemi UK Ltd 14,025.30 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Geminor UK Ltd 329,068.51 437,008.81 343,539.93 269,000.02 157,899.64
Greenway Waste Recycling Ltd 77.19 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Grundon Waste Management Ltd 32,411.91 24,853.53 16,728.75 0.00 0.00
Hills Waste Solutions Ltd 23,573.06 17,275.77 9,105.82 17,535.75 24,007.28
Hinkcroft Transport Ltd 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Island Waste Ltd 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
JBT Waste Services Ltd 17,864.16 11,825.51 0.00 0.00 0.00
McGrath Bros (Waste Control) Ltd 73,326.95 29,853.78 34,391.93 21,713.70 25,773.14
MDJ Light Brothers Ltd 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Mick George Ltd 0.00 0.00 0.00 888.09 0.00
Mid UK Recycling Ltd 17,418.99 52,481.18 21,887.32 0.00 0.00
MJ Church (Plant) Ltd 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
N & P Alternative Fuels Ltd 357,394.08 364,872.26 291,130.13 165,732.54 128,270.67
New Earth Solutions (Canford) Ltd 45,822.05 30,610.45 34,737.55 14,347.93 7,009.56
New Earth Solutions (Leicestershire) Ltd 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
New Earth Solutions (West) Ltd 62,050.71 38,730.36 42,620.98 15,687.36 0.00
New Earth Solutions (West) Ltd T/A Mid UK Recycling 0.00 0.00 18,345.31 77,417.63 63,541.92
Niramax Group Ltd 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Northstone International Ltd 0.00 9,808.78 35,183.79 5,315.43 0.00
Pericula Ltd 288.59 1,199.70 3,793.76 0.00 0.00
PM Recycling Ltd 7,554.97 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Powerday PLC 37,885.51 18,027.72 17,758.95 12,319.72 2,513.75
Probio Energy Ltd 94,802.04 143,218.37 170,566.74 180,091.86 180,940.92
Quercia Ltd 54,156.17 58,484.97 55,589.38 58,498.90 54,419.39
REDACTED 869.72 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
REMONDIS Ltd 0.00 5,091.25 16,440.89 1,933.16 0.00
Renewi UK Services Ltd 0.00 30,053.00 30,874.23 22,926.44 104,647.07
Seneca Environmental Solutions Ltd 230,049.01 155,214.72 126,137.49 43,222.41 2,165.50
Shanks Waste Management Ltd 143,416.06 117,886.34 75,486.59 28,017.36 0.00
Specialised Waste Solutions Ltd 0.00 48.54 169.88 0.00 0.00
Street Fuel Ltd 56,041.22 44,128.26 23,593.62 15,564.15 34,654.58
SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK Ltd 428,609.12 322,103.65 283,213.15 216,034.54 68,775.26
Taurus Waste Recycling Ltd 419.93 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Thanet Waste Services Ltd 8,471.02 72.08 0.00 0.00 0.00
Totus Environmental Ltd 47,909.10 63,379.39 41,025.36 55,065.87 54,571.38
Transwaste Recycling & Aggregates Ltd 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Veolia ES (UK) Ltd 155,917.23 164,009.73 171,809.45 0.00 25,390.29
Wastecycle Ltd 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Weir Waste Services Ltd 13,612.81 1,895.28 0.00 0.00 0.00
West Sussex Britaniacrest Seneca Partnership Ltd 0.00 30,259.62 56,241.95 70,878.36 67,500.18
Zweckverband Abfallbehandlung Kahlenberg 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

References

  1. Typical ranges for Residual Waste as a Comparison
  2. Not generally defined for exports to EU (no biomass requirements.)
  3. 3.0 3.1 Not generally defined in a fuel spec
  4. CIWM Presidential Report 2018 Summary of Findings pdf