Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and

Environmental Effects

ISSN: 1556-7036 (Print) 1556-7230 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ueso20

Life cycle assessment of refuse-derived fuel

production from mixed municipal waste

Katarzyna Grzesik & Mateusz Malinowski

To cite this article: Katarzyna Grzesik & Mateusz Malinowski (2016) Life cycle assessment
of refuse-derived fuel production from mixed municipal waste, Energy Sources,
Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and Environmental Effects, 38:21, 3150-3157, DOI:
10.1080/15567036.2015.1136976

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15567036.2015.1136976

Published online: 12 Oct 2016.

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ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
2016, VOL. 38, NO. 21, 3150–3157
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15567036.2015.1136976

Life cycle assessment of refuse-derived fuel production from

mixed municipal waste
Katarzyna Grzesika and Mateusz Malinowskib
a
Faculty of Mining Surveying and Environmental Engineering, Department of Environmental Management and
Protection, AGH University of Science and Technology, Krakow, Poland; bFaculty of Production and Power
Engineering, Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Informatics, University of Agriculture in Krakow, Krakow,
Poland

ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
The aim of this study is to identify and assess the potential environmental Life cycle assessment;
impacts caused by refuse-derived fuel (RDF) production from mixed muni- mechanical–biological
cipal waste, in a mechanical–biological waste treatment plant in Krakow, treatment; municipal waste;
Poland. The study is based on life cycle assessment methodology, employ- refuse-derived fuel; waste
ing EASETECH model. The system boundaries include only those operations management
which lead to the production of RDF. The adopted functional unit is 1 Mg of
mixed municipal waste generated in Krakow, which enters the mechanical–
biological waste treatment plant.

1. Introduction
One of the most important challenges of sustainable development is providing an efficient and
integrated waste management, especially municipal waste, because its generation depends on
society’s affluence, consumption level, and economic development. Execution of principles of
sustainable development in regard to waste management translates into application of hierarchy of
waste management, that is preventing waste generation; preparation for re-use, recycling, other
recovery processes; and, if necessary, disposal of the waste that cannot be recovered. These principles
were reflected in EU and Polish strategic documents, including, among others, Waste Framework
Directive (Directive, 2008), Landfill Directive (Directive, 1999), and National Waste Management
Plan (National Plan, 2010). The most important objectives defined in these documents include
reduction of landfilling, and increasing recycling and recovery level of waste. Since January 1, 2013, a
ban on landfilling has been in effect in regard to municipal waste and residues from sorting
municipal waste for which heat of combustion exceeds 6 MJ.kg−1 of dry matter (Regulation 2013).
Such legal requirements and a lack of functional municipal waste incinerators enforce the need for
municipal waste treatment by other methods. Such a situation resulted in rapid development of
mechanical–biological plants for treatment of mixed municipal waste along with accompanying
installations for production of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) from waste. In order to produce RDF of
required quality parameters, mixed municipal waste must undergo specific processing. Usually, the
production process of RDF includes mechanical sorting and/or biological drying (Dębicka et al.,
2012; Ragazzi and Rada, 2012). The fuel should meet quality standards (Mokrzycki et al., 2003), key
of which are the ones that determine its usability for combustion in cement kilns. These parameters
include, among others, calorific value (>14 MJ·kg–1), water content (<15%), chlorine content
(<0.8%), sulfur content (<2.5%), ash content (<15%), PCB content (<50 mg·kg–1), and heavy metal
content (<2,500 mg·kg–1) (Trezza and Scian, 2005). Due to heterogeneous morphological

CONTACT Katarzyna Grzesik grzesikk@agh.edu.pl AGH University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Mining Surveying
and Environmental Engineering, Al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland.
© 2016 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
 ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS 3151

composition of municipal waste, meeting the above requirements is difficult. In the case of mixed
municipal waste, separation of combustible fraction alone does not predispose it for incineration in a
cement kiln (Malinowski and Sikora, 2014). On the other hand, the use of RDFs brings notable
environmental benefits, because it reduces exploitation, processing, and combustion of fossil fuels.
The objective of this study is to identify and assess potential environmental impacts caused by the
process of production of RDF from mixed municipal waste. The RDF production process executed
in one of Krakow’s mechanical–biological municipal waste treatment plants is evaluated. The study
is based on life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology, employing the EASETECH model.

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Municipal waste produced and its characteristics
The input for production of RDF is mixed municipal waste. The present research examines mixed
municipal waste generated in Krakow. Data on the morphological composition of waste and its
properties originate from the report on waste testing carried out for Krakow from November 2010 to
October 2011, for five selected measurement routes that represent three basic types of building
development in Krakow: center, multi-family housing, single-family housing (Sieja et al., 2011).
Mixed municipal waste produced in Krakow feature the following parameters: water content,
41.1%; combustible substances, 78.3% of dry matter; heat of combustion, 13.82 MJ·kg–1 of dry
matter; calorific value, 7.94 MJ·kg–1 of dry matter; chloride content (Cl), 0.297% of dry matter;
fluoride content (F), 0.0031%; and sulfur content (SO3), 0.168% of dry matter (Sieja et al., 2011).
Material composition of mixed municipal waste produced in Krakow is compiled in Table 1.

2.2. Waste recovery installation

Installation of mechanical–biological waste treatment of MIKI Recycling is located in Krakow with
annual capacity totals of 30,000 Mg of mixed municipal waste. Upon delivery, weighing, and unloading
in the production hall, waste is directed to preliminary shredding (tearing the sacs) and then to magnetic
and manual separation which results in retrieving recyclable materials: ferrous and nonferrous metals,
glass, paper and cardboard, plastics. The remaining waste stream is directed to a trommel screen with a
80 mm mesh, where waste is separated into fine fraction of 0–80 mm grain size and into thick fraction
over 80 mm. Fine fraction, which consist of organic matter mostly, is used for aerobic biological
stabilization (composting). Oversize fraction over 80 mm grain size is directed to an air separation
unit where further separation into heavy and light fractions is performed. The heavy fraction constitutes
ballast and is directed to disposal (landfill). The light fraction, the so-called pre-RDF, which contains
mostly dry waste of high calorific value, is directed to final shredding, which ensures fuel particles sizing

Table 1. Material composition of residual waste from households in Krakow (adapted from Sieja et al.,
2011).
Material fraction Percentage, %
Bio-waste (kitchen and garden) 29.22
Wood 0.99
Paper and cardboard 20.48
Plastics 14.59
Glass 8.53
Textiles 2.93
Metals 2.25
Hazardous waste 0.72
Composites 4.6
Inert waste 1.96
Other categories 4.89
Fine fraction (under 10 mm) 8.84
Total 100.00
3152 K. GRZESIK AND M. MALINOWSKI

under 10 cm2, and then to bio-drying in a reactor, where partial evaporation of water takes place. RDF
prepared in such a way is loaded onto “walking floor” type vehicles and shipped to a cement plant.

2.3. Properties of refuse-derived fuel obtained from municipal waste

Physical and chemical parameters of RDF produced at MIKI Recycling plant were determined based on
laboratory analyses of samples collected from July 2012 through April 2013 (Malinowski, 2013). Tests
were performed on fuel obtained from municipal waste collected in three types of building development:
(1) urban (Krakow) single-family housing; (2) urban (Krakow) downtown development with a large
number of infrastructure buildings; (3) suburban building development of municipalities around
Krakow. Alternative fuel, before the bio-drying phase produced from municipal waste collected in
Krakow, features the parameters shown in Table 2.

2.4. Application of life cycle assessment methodology in waste management

LCA is an assessment method used for environmental aspects and potential environmental impacts. It
was originally developed to evaluate product life cycle, from natural resources exploitation, through
processing, manufacturing, use, reuse, recycling, until final disposal of waste, that is “from the cradle to
the grave” or “from the cradle to the cradle.” LCA is also used for assessment of environmental aspects
and impacts related to waste management systems or recycling and waste disposal plants. A systemic
approach to life cycle analysis covers all areas of environmental impacts related to waste management,
including each waste processing procedure. Such an analysis is a tool that enables evaluation of various
waste processing technologies which feature various power consumption and production patterns and
various material reclaim levels. LCA’s main objective is to provide a holistic insight into emission to
environment and natural resources use caused by a waste management system or a waste management
plant (Bjorklund et al., 2010). Performing a life cycle analysis is a difficult and complex process which
requires a large amount of very precise data (databases) and methodologies of modeling environmental
mechanisms and effects of emissions. Therefore, life cycle analysis is performed with the use of models
designed especially for that purpose.
The present study was conducted with the use of the EASETECH model based on the
EASEWASTE model concept (Kirkeby et al., 2006). Modeling begins at the stage of waste collection
and transportation and ends with final disposal of waste. The model calculates air, water, and soil
emissions as well as consumption of natural resources. Recyclable materials that are recycled and
energy obtained from waste is treated as substitutes for primary resources or energy obtained from
primary resources. In order to translate emissions and resource consumption into environmental
impacts, a methodology of life cycle impact assessment is used. The present study adopts the EDIP
2003 methodology (Hauschild and Potting, 2005), in which environmental impact is assessed for the
following impact categories: acidification, eutrophication, ecotoxicity, global warming, toxicity for
humans, photochemical ozone formation, and ozone layer depletion. In the EDIP methodology,
results are obtained in the form of, among others, inventory tables with calculations of emissions of
individual substances and consumption of particular resources (set analysis – LCI) and in the form

Table 2. Parameters of alternative fuel prior to bio-drying phase produced from mixed municipal waste (adapted from Malinowski,
2013).
Alternative fuel produced from mixed municipal waste collected in Krakow
Parameter Unit Single-family housing City center development
Water content % 23.2 22.8
Heat of combustion MJ·kg–1 23.755 24.585
Calorific value MJ·kg–1 17.024 17.771
Ash content in dry matter % in dry matter 11.9 11.9
Sulphur content in dry matter % in dry matter 0.257 0.277
TOC content in dry matter % in dry matter 43.6 44.3
 ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS 3153

of a normalized impact in particular categories. Normalized impact represents relative environ-

mental impacts compared with mean impact of a single statistical person (so-called normalization
reference). Results are expressed in a unit called person equivalent (PE) (Hansen et al., 2006).

2.5. Functional unit and system boundaries

The system boundaries include only those treatment processes that result in production of RDF.
Processing waste fractions separated from mixed municipal waste from which no fuel is obtained are
excluded from the system boundaries. These include, among others, aerobic stabilization (composting)
of fine (bio-waste) fraction under 80 mm grain size, landfilling of ballast, and recycling of separated
recyclable materials. The system boundaries of this analysis along with mass balance of individual waste
streams and consumption of energy and diesel fuel is presented in Figure 1.

3. Research results and discussion

The results of the life cycle inventory(LCI) analysis, that is emissions to air and water, were
converted into impact categories (classification), and for each impact category the value of category
indicator (characterization) is calculated. Because indicator units are different for each impact
category, at this stage impact categories cannot be compared with each other. Therefore, the values
of category indicators were normalized, that is divided by the reference value, which is the average
impact on the environment exerted by a single statistical person. The normalized results are
expressed in PE units. Normalized results of the potential environmental impacts of RDF production
from mixed municipal waste are presented in Figure 2.
Significant impact categories include photochemical ozone formation (impact on human health
and vegetation), eutrophication (N potential and combined potential), acidification, human toxicity,
terrestrial eutrophication, and global warming.
The following substances cause high values in particular impact categories:

● acidification: sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide emitted from combustion of fuels in vehicles and as
a result of combustion of fossil fuels during the process of electricity production, moreover HCl
and HF emissions as a consequence of electricity production;
● photochemical ozone formation (impact on human health and vegetation): emissions of
nitrogen oxides, methane, and NMVOC (non-methane volatile organic compounds);
● human toxicity: emission of nitrogen oxides, formaldehyde, hydrogen sulfide, lead from
combustion of fuel in vehicles and production of electricity;
● eutrophication (N potential, combined potential, terrestrial eutrophication): emissions of
nitrogen oxides;
● global warming: emissions of carbon dioxide and methane from combustion of fossil fuels.

The process of production of RDF from mixed municipal waste is executed within several operations
according to the scheme presented in Figure 1. Within the discussed system of RDF production from
mixed municipal waste, environment is affected to the greatest degree by the following processes:
collection and transportation of mixed municipal waste (fuel combustion in vehicles) and final shredding
of RDF (electricity consumption). Share of individual processes in overall environmental impact of RDF
production is presented in Figure 3. Collection and transportation of mixed municipal waste causes over
51% of total environmental impact of the discussed RDF production system, while final shredding causes
21% of total impact. These two processes are the most fuel- and energy-consuming per functional unit
among all processes within RDF production system.
However, it must be noticed, that within the discussed system, the collection and transportation of
mixed municipal waste from urban building development (Krakow city) was taken into consideration.
For collection and transportation of municipal waste from rural areas (suburban communities), fuel
3154 K. GRZESIK AND M. MALINOWSKI

Mixed municipal waste

1000kg

Emissions from
Fuel use fuel combustion
Collection and transport
8.30 l diesel
Emissions from
electricity prod. Recyclables
Electricity use Manual and magnetic
Metals, paper,
7.96 kWh separation
glass, plastics
38.79 kg
Residues after separation
961.20 kg
Emissions from
fuel combustion

Fuel use Initial shredding and Undersize fraction

2.31 l diesel trommel screen (80 mm) (biowaste)
419.70 kg

Oversize fraction
541.40 kg
Emissions from
electricity prod.
Electricity use Air separator Heavy fraction
9.80 kWh (ballast)
192.60 kg

Light fraction - high

calorific
348.90 kg

Emissions from
Electricity use Final shredding electricity prod.
91.37 kWh

Emissions from
Electricity use Bio-drying electricity prod.
9.80 kWh

Refuse-derived fuel RDF

318.50 kg

Emissions from
Fuel use RDF loading and fuel combustion
5.15 l diesel transport

Incineration in a cement
kiln

Figure 1. System boundaries, waste streams flow with mass balance, consumption of electricity, and diesel fuel.

consumption is higher by 3 dm3 per one tone of waste. Moreover, modeling results are highly
influenced by data on electricity and diesel fuel consumption by individual machines operating within
the technological process of waste treatment. For final shredder within the studied MBP installation,
great divergence in electricity consumption has been recorded from year to year.
 ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS 3155

0.016
0.014
0.012
PE 0.01
0.008
0.006
0.004
0.002
0

Figure 2. Normalized impacts of refuse-derived fuel production.

1.0% 8.8%

Mixed municipal waste

collection and transport
Manual and magnetic
21.0% separation
Initial shredding and
trommel screening
51.4% Air separation

Final shredding

2.8% Bio-drying
11.6%
RDF loading and transport

3.3%

Figure 3. The share of individual operations in the overall environmental impacts of refuse-derived fuel production.

It must be also noted that system boundaries of this LCA study exclude processing other
fractions separated from mixed municipal waste, that is undersize fraction including bio-waste,
heavy fraction – ballast, and recyclable materials. The presented modeling results apply only to
those processes that lead to obtaining RDF and not to a complete mechanical–biological treatment
(MBT) procedure of mixed municipal waste. Should system boundaries be changed and these
processes incorporated into the modeling, results obtained indicate that landfilling of heavy
fraction (ballast) and undersize fraction after aerobic stabilization is the process of greatest
environmental impact, which has been demonstrated in publications (Grzesik and Jakubiak,
2014; Grzesik et al., 2014).
3156 K. GRZESIK AND M. MALINOWSKI

The system boundaries also exclude incineration of RDF in cement kilns. This process will be
subjected for a detailed analysis in a separate paper. Incineration of RDF brings notable environmental
benefits (positive impact on environment) in the form of “avoided impacts.” By incineration of RDF,
nonrenewable energy sources are saved, that is exploitation of fossil fuels, in Polish conditions mostly
bituminous coal and lignite, is reduced. Also environmental impacts (emissions) related to the entire
processing of nonrenewable fossil fuels can be avoided.

4. Conclusions
RDF production process has a negative impact on environment which is associated with fuel
combustion and electricity consumption in mixed municipal waste treatment.
Significant impact categories are photochemical ozone formation, eutrophication, acidification,
human toxicity, and global warming.
Operations that affect environment to a great extent are collection and transportation of mixed
municipal waste and final shredding of high-calorific light fraction. These processes are highly
energy-intensive: diesel fuel consumption for waste collection and electricity consumption by the
final shredder. In order to reduce the negative environmental impact of RDF production, the focus
should be on reducing energy consumption of these two operations.
The system boundaries exclude processing other waste fractions separated from mixed municipal
waste, that is undersize fraction that includes bio-waste, heavy fraction – ballast, and recyclable
materials. In terms of changing the system boundaries and including these processes, the obtained
results indicate that landfilling of ballast and undersize fraction after biological aerobic stabilization
is a process exerting the greatest impact on the environment.
The system boundaries also exclude combustion of RDF which brings notable environmental
benefits (positive impact on environment) in the form of “impact avoided” related to exploitation
and processing of fossil fuels, in Polish conditions mostly bituminous and lignite coal.

Funding
The work was financed by means of Statutory Research number 11.11.150.008, AGH University of Science and
Technology, and Statutory Research number DS 3600, University of Agriculture in Krakow.

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