Upward Smoldering of Single RDF(Refuse-Derived Fuel)

Abstract

Fire in the piled RDF is one of the complicated combustion phenomena. In this study, a simplification of the fire spread is considered in order to analyze this phenomenon, and single RDF sample ignites on a hot surface, and then the fire (combustion zone or reaction zone) spreads upward direction is made to be an object. In the experiment, the following are examined : thermogravimetry (TG), ignitability and fire spreading characteristics with hot surface temperature change, and temperature measurement in the sample. As a result of the experiment, there are five temperatures peaks in the weight loss, and they are 230 °C, 292 °C, 405 °C, 454 °C, 636 °C. Pyrolysis of the organic substance is the multiple stage, and it is clearly divided into range of 230°C-400°C and 400-550°C. It is found to ignite over 450°C, though it does not ignite in 400°C at the hot surface temperature. The fire spreads without flame in the mode of smoldering. The maximum temperature of the reaction zone is about 600°C. Although combustion process is dependent on the raw material of RDF, it estimated that the distance between the preheat zone and the reaction zone is 8∼9 mm in the fire spreading based on the temperature measurement and TG.