Co-combustion of solid recovered fuels in coal-fired power plants

Currently, in ten coal-fired power plants in Germany solid recovered fuels from mixed municipal waste and production-specific commercial waste are co-combusted and experiments have been conducted at other locations. Overall, in 2010 approximately 800,000 tonnes of these solid recovered fuels were used. In the coming years up to 2014 a slight decline in the quantity of materials used in co-combustions is expected. The co-combustion activities are in part significantly influenced by increasing power supply from renewable sources of energy and their impact on the regime of coal-fired power plants usage. Moreover, price trends of CO₂ allowances, solid recovered fuels as well as imported coal also have significant influence. In addition to the usage of solid recovered fuels with biogenic content, the co-combustion of pure renewable biofuels has become more important in coal-fired power plants. The power plant operators make high demands on the quality of solid recovered fuels. As the operational experience shows, a set of problems may be posed by co-combustion. The key factors in process engineering are firing technique and corrosion. A significant ecological key factor is the emission of pollutants into the atmosphere. The results of this study derive from research made on the basis of an extensive literature search as well as a survey on power plant operators in Germany. The data from operators was updated in spring 2011.