Residue Derived Fuels as an Alternative Fuel for the Hellenic Power Generation Sector and their Potential for Emissions Reduction

The European Union Landfill Directive (1999/31 EC) promotes more environmental friendly waste management options, by reducing the amount of wastes and more specific of biodegradable wastes, disposed of in landfills. The EU member states are adopting the mechanical-biological treatment process for municipal solid waste and non-hazardous industrial wastes to comply with the abovementioned Directive’s targets on landfill diversion, and produce waste derived fuels such as refuse derived fuel and solid recovered fuel. Waste derived fuels present high calorific values depending on their synthesis and are being used both in dedicated waste-to-energy plants and as fuel substitutes in industrial processes. In this paper the refuse derived fuel and solid recovered fuel production and utilisation options in European Union are presented, and the possibilities in Greece based on the waste production and National Plan for Waste Management of the Ministry of Environment is attempted. The existing and ongoing studies on co-combustion and co-gasification with brown coal support the use of refuse derived fuel and solid recovered fuel as fuel on Hellenic Power Sector, adopting in the existing lignite power plants adequate Air Pollution Control systems. If the co-combustion or co-gasification of these alternative fuels is adopted from the Hellenic Power Sector a reduction on emissions is expected that cannot be neglected.