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A preliminary study of fuel mixtures of industrial sludge, bottom ash, and municipal solid waste for co-firing in coal boilers

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Abstract

Wastewater treatment in the textile factory produces sludge classified as toxic and hazardous waste, which is harmful if left untreated. This study assessed the potential of utilizing sludge from a textile factory in Bandung Regency, Indonesia, as a co-firing fuel in coal boiler furnaces employed in the factory. The study aimed to improve the performance of sludge to meet the required standards for fuel substitution. The analysis involved proximate, ultimate, and ash element tests with correlation of the results with calorific values. The sludge was mixed with coal bottom ash produced by the textile factory and biomass (local refuse-derived fuel) at different ratios. An environmental impact analysis was also carried out with the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) and air emission testing. The results showed that the sludge did not meet the fuel substitution requirements if it was used as a single material. However, the sludge could be used as a substitute for coal by mixing it with bottom ash and biomass; the optimum composition was a ratio of 20% sludge, 40% bottom ash, and 40% biomass by weight. TCLP and air emission test results showed that this mixture was safe for human health and the environment and met the fuel substitution requirements. This study provides a practical solution to the problem of reducing toxic and hazardous waste.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia for providing financial assistance to conduct this research through the LPDP RISPRO program in 2019–2020. The authors also thank the management and staff members of textile factory in the Bandung Regency, where this study was conducted. The authors are grateful to the Laboratory of the Research Center for Geotechnology (LIPI), the Laboratory of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, and the Laboratory for Environmental Quality Control, PDAM Tirtawening, Bandung, for their support in testing the samples.

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DM contributed to conceptualization, methodology, analysis on data of proximate, ultimate, calorific value, wastewater quality, TCLP, heavy metal, chlorine, air emission, and writing, review and editing; H contributed to analysis of sulfur content, and writing; SJSD contributed to conceptualization, analysis on data of proximate, ultimate, calorific value, sulfur content, and writing.

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Correspondence to Dyah Marganingrum.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest in the publication of this article. The authors also confirm that the data are original and the paper is free of plagiarism.

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Marganingrum, D., Hidawati & Djaja, S.D.S. A preliminary study of fuel mixtures of industrial sludge, bottom ash, and municipal solid waste for co-firing in coal boilers. Energ. Ecol. Environ. 7, 186–198 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40974-021-00229-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40974-021-00229-y

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