Perspectives of RDF use in Decentralized Areas: Comparing Power and Cogeneration Solutions

Present EU trends strive to maximize the resources recovery from municipal solid waste thus minimizing the waste amount to be disposed off. Refuse-derived fuel (RDF) production is considered in some countries to be a priority solution even if current market scenarios and consumers scepticism at present limit its widespread utilization. In this work, a comparison has been carried out of two possible RDF utilization alternatives, with particular reference to territorial districts with low population density. After a brief introduction, in which current RDF combustion technologies are illustrated, two possible plant configurations are considered, one concerning only electric power production; the other one combined heat and power production (CHP), using heat for district heating purposes, resorting to two different architectures: single pass-out condensing turbine and back-pressure turbine. Possible application of these technologies to a case study is then proposed, referring to a central Italy mountain territory characterized by a low population density. Then, an economic evaluation has been carried out. Finally, a parametric study was performed in order to define acceptable values for the sale price of thermal energy and the effect on profitability of the incremental investment needed for the construction of a district heating network.