RDF Fire and Explosion Hazards at Power Plants

In the last 30 years Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) has grown in popularity due to its perception as a readily available, renewable and sustainable fuel for power stations. This increased use of RDF has been closely followed by an escalation of industrial fire and explosion-related incidents associated w...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Janusz Januszewski, Dorota Brzezińska
Format: article
Language:EN
Published: MDPI AG 2021
Subjects:
RDF
Online Access:https://doaj.org/article/d525439746654d17a436fb487ae7ec03
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In the last 30 years Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) has grown in popularity due to its perception as a readily available, renewable and sustainable fuel for power stations. This increased use of RDF has been closely followed by an escalation of industrial fire and explosion-related incidents associated with this fuel, showing the new hazards and inherent dangers brought by it. The re-evaluation of specific fire and explosion protective measures is required. For RDF to have a continued role as an energy source in a volatile and difficult energy market, it must be perceived as: sustainable; safe; easy; cheap; and reliable. If financial losses due to business interruption occur frequently, then confidence in this area will dissolve, and while safety is paramount to prevent injury and/or death, reputational damage must also be considered to secure energy supply and maintain market confidence in RDF. This paper presents a review of previous investigations and scientific studies, which, combined with the authors’ own RDF fire and explosion investigatory experience, allows for a logical hypothesis to be made in relation to relative practices in storage and fuel route fire safety management.