Autothermal Drying of Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste

In order to take advantage of heat released during composting, the autothermal drying process requires the maintenance of adequate air flow combined with temperature. The aim of this paper was to construct a drying tunnel enabling the automatic control and regulation of the basic process parameters for biomass drying (organic fraction of municipal solid waste together with plant structural material) to obtain biofuel. In the course of investigations, various constructions of a drying tunnel were tested. The best results were accomplished for a horizontal reactor with the automatic regulation of air flow. About 50% reduction of moisture content and dry mass on the level of 0.53 kgdry mass/kgwet weight were obtained. The heat of combustion of dried waste and its calorific value were 12.28 kJ/g waste and 10.98 kJ/g waste, respectively.