Fuels made from waste replace primary fuels in thermal processes and therefore help to protect the environment. High-performance shredding and separation systems are required to produce these refuse-derived fuels. That’s because the original material consists of a range of different composites made up primarily of non-recyclable plastics, sorting residue, production residue and domestic, industrial, commercial and bulky waste. BHS-Sonthofen designs and builds systems for the optimum recycling of different types of waste.
Regardless of what input material you are using to produce refuse-derived fuel, it first needs to be pre-shredded in order to homogenize the material. The RAPAX or rotary shear (type VR) may be the best choice for pre-shredding depending on the properties of the input material. The two machines share a key feature: Both are low-speed, high-torque twin-shaft crushers. This makes it possible to perform initial disaggregation even of challenging, hard components. What sets the two machines apart is the cutting technology they use. The rotary shear works well with bulky and elastic materials, while the pre-shredder, which is designed for bulky material, is able to handle large volumes of input material with ease.
Following shredding, all undesirable materials can be automatically separated in additional process steps for use as refuse-derived fuels. This includes metals, minerals, PVC and hazardous materials. The remaining material that is viable for thermal applications must be further shredded. This step is necessary to reduce the high calorific fraction to a particle size required by the market. The universal shredder (NGU) is particularly well suited for this job since it is able to produce the desired preset particle size. Thanks to BHS technology, the high-quality end product can be poured, stored and is ideal for utilization in whichever thermal process the customer desires.
When it comes to waste containing solvents such as paint residues, the only option is often to send it to a special waste incineration plant, with all the costs this entails. The horizontal dryers and vertical dryers from our subsidiary AVA make it possible to separate solvents from solid residues, slash the cost of their disposal and use them, for example, in the production of refuse-derived fuels.
When it comes to refuse-derived fuels, having a high calorific value is critical. The horizontal mixers and vertical mixers manufactured by our subsidiary AVA are used to optimize this value for waste that contains many different materials.