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Resources, Conservation and Recycling 40 (2003) 5369

Physical, biological and chemical processes during


storage and spontaneous combustion of waste fuel
William Hogland a, , Marcia Marques b
a

Department of Technology, University of Kalmar, P.O. Box 905, SE-391 29 Kalmar, Sweden
Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, FEN, Rio de Janeiro State University UERJ, Rua So
Francisco Xavier, 524, Maracan, CEP 20550-900 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Received 28 September 1999; received in revised form 10 September 2002; accepted 18 October 2002

Abstract
The storage of unsorted industrial waste (IND) fuel and refused-derived fuel (RDF) in piles at two
different locations in Sweden was investigated. The objective was to assess the feasibility of waste
storage in open areas for later energy utilization, and to study the physical, biological and chemical
processes that occur during storage, by monitoring a number of parameters. One monitored IND
pile showed an increase in temperature from an average of 49 10 to 73 7 C, accompanied by
considerable fluctuations in the waste mass interstitial oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations
during the first month of storage. Thereafter, steady-state conditions were registered for about 4
months, with an average pile temperature of 77 8 C, interstitial oxygen concentration varying from
below the detection limit up to 5% by volume, interstitial carbon dioxide concentrations varying from
0.2 to 18%, and interstitial methane concentrations varying from below detection limit up to 0.5%.
After 6 months of storage, spontaneous combustion occurred in the monitored IND pile. This was
preceded by strong winds, which ventilated the pile and increased its oxygen content. Spontaneous
combustion was also observed in one RDF pile after the same storage time (about 6 months). The
leachate produced as a result of the large quantity of water used in an attempt to douse the burning RDF
pile showed higher concentrations of chemical oxygen demand, biochemical oxygen demand, total
nitrogen, total oxidized nitrogen, total phosphorus and the heavy metals lead, cadmium and chromium
than the median values in the leachate from municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill and from MSW
incineration residues (50% fly ash) landfill. Baling to reduce waste fuel porosity is suggested as a
safer option for the storage of waste material for energy recovery purposes.
2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Biodegradation; Industrial waste; Municipal solid waste; Natural convection; Self-ignition; Storage
of waste; Spontaneous combustion

Corresponding author. Tel.: +46-480-446721; fax: +46-480-44633.


E-mail address: william.hogland@hik.se (W. Hogland).

0921-3449/$ see front matter 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/S0921-3449(03)00025-9

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W. Hogland, M. Marques / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 40 (2003) 5369

1. Introduction
As a consequence of new European Union Directive (Council Directive 1999/31/ EC,
1999) requiring landfill reduction which imply an increase in waste incineration and recycling, greater storage of solid waste fuels is expected in the future. The percentage of
municipal solid waste (MSW) incinerated in EU countries amounted to about 17% in 1995
and this value is likely to increase considerable over the coming years. Furthermore, local
legislation prohibits the incineration of waste without energy utilization. In northern Europe,
energy recovery from waste is normally used to produce hot water or steam for heating,
demand for which is unevenly distributed over the year. Seasonal storage of waste fuel is,
therefore, necessary. In the rest of Europe, the energy recovered is usually converted into
electricity.
The level of construction of new incineration plants, as well as increases in the capacity
of existing plants is not trivial. Apart from the considerable investment involved, environmental legislation and regulations regarding land use place constraints on the development
of such plants. In addition, other problems have been identified from trials aimed at increasing the amount of waste that can be recycled. Thus, improved knowledge concerning
physical, chemical and biological processes occurring during waste storage is urgently required. Studies concerning the storage of fuel have been previously carried out for forest
material (Ernstson, 1995; Ernstson and Rasmuson, 1993; Ernstson et al., 1991; Ernstson and
Rasmuson, 1990; Thrnqvist, 1988; Kubler, 1987; Collin et al., 1986, 1985) from where
most of the theory presented in this paper was derived.
1.1. Spontaneous combustion
Hundreds of landfill fires are reported annually in Sweden (Naturvrdsverket, 1994)
and in Finland (Ettala et al., 1996). Fires may also occur in fresh storage piles of municipal, industrial, construction and demolition waste after short periods, typically ranging
from a few days to several months. About 50% of the fires occur in refuse stored for
less than 2 weeks (Hogland et al., 1996). Fires have also been investigated at composting facilities (Rynk, 2000). The author emphasizes the importance of diligent monitoring
of bulk organic materials at the site, based on an understanding of how fires start and
behave.
A total of 35 000 tonnes of waste fuel is stored annually in Sweden and 45 000 tonnes is
stored in Denmark (Hogland et al., 1996). During 1988 and 1989 for instance, 217 spontaneous fires in landfills were reported in Sweden (Bergstrm and Bjrner, 1992). It has
been stated that, in Sweden, the environmental impact of such fires is larger than the impact
of all incineration plants in operation (Ettala et al., 1996). Waste fires lead to emissions of
carcinogenic and mutagenic substances, such as polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), chlorinated monoaromatic compounds and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated
dibenzo-, dioxins and furans (PCDDs and PCDFs) (Ruokojrvi et al., 1995a,b). From controlled experiments with MSW, five times more PCBs are released from fires than from
incinerator plants equipped with flue gas cleaning (Ettala et al., 1996). The total amount of
dioxins released from these experiments was 1 mg tonne1 of waste, which is four times
the amount released from incinerators.

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55

Storage of household waste under different conditions for 1 year showed no increase in
temperature above 70 C in piles of height lower than 3 m (Bramryd et al., 1990; kesson
et al., 1991). Nevertheless, there have also been reports of spontaneous combustion in piles of
wood fuel (Bramryd et al., 1990; kesson et al., 1991). Fires in landfills can be divided into
deep fires and surface fires, depending on the location of the fire. Deep fires are associated
with pyrolysis and produce oxygen-free gases that contain carcinogenic and mutagenic
substances at relatively low temperature due to oxygen starvation. The gases from surface
fires contain much lower amounts of such substances as the open flames probably destroy
most of these compounds (Bergstrm and Bjrner, 1992).
Field experiments, including tests of several methods of storage of different categories of
waste have been carried out (Hogland et al., 1996; Hogland, 1998; Tamaddon et al., 1995;
Hogland et al., 1993). This paper is based mainly in two spontaneous combustion events: one
in an industrial waste (IND) fuel storage pile and another in a refused-derived fuel (RDF)
pile. Physical, chemical and biological processes occurring during storage were studied and
a theoretical explanation for the spontaneous ignition developed, based on previous studies
of storage of forest fuel material.

2. Material and methods


In order to avoid spontaneous ignition and to preserve the energy content of the waste,
waste intended for energy recovery is stored in piles according to two principles:
(i) ventilated storage, where the waste is dried and cooled by the free passage of air;
(ii) compacted storage, where the waste is compacted to avoid air becoming trapped within
it, thereby creating favorable conditions for spontaneous ignition to occur.
The second storage type is generally favored since the first leads to zones where the waste
is insufficiently dried and, together with oxygen, the conditions for spontaneous ignition to
occur may be fulfilled. However, as will be shown in the present paper, even in compacted
form it is difficult to avoid zones with an excess of air.
The two storage piles investigated in this study were stored according to either of the
two different principles mentioned above. The RDF (Table 1) was mixed with wood chips
to absorb moisture and lightly compacted with a front loader, whereas IND (Table 2) was
stored in compacted piles and covered with wood chips.
2.1. IND storage pile
The experimental storage of IND piles was carried out at Spillepeng landfill site in Malm,
southern Sweden. The Spillepeng site is close to the coast and is, therefore, exposed to strong
winds. A total of 135 tonnes of IND, previously compacted with a 32-tonne compactor, was
stored there in three separate piles, each up to 4 m high. The piles were covered with wood
chips to minimize the infiltration of rainwater. Three sets of five plastic pipes were inserted
horizontally into one waste pile at levels labeled A, B and C (respectively, 1, 2, and 3 m
from the bottom) for measurements of temperature and gas compositions (Fig. 1). At each
level, five separate pipes were used to collect samples from five points, located 1 m apart

56

Composition of RDF before shredding

Characteristics of RDF after shredding

Paper
(%)

Comb plastic
(%)

PVC
(%)

Metal glass stone


(%)

Other comb
(%)

Other non comb


(%)

(%)

3542

1843

727

0.9

414

514

3446

TS
(%)

Ash
(%)

Weff.wet
wwt (MJ kg1 )

TS (MJ kg1 )

56

15

9.9

19.6

Comb, combustible; , moisture content. Weff.wet , effective calorific value based on wet weight (wwt) and total solids (TS).

W. Hogland, M. Marques / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 40 (2003) 5369

Table 1
The composition of refuse derived fuel (RDF) and its characteristics after shredding

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57

Table 2
The characteristics of IND fuel stored in compacted piles at the Spillepeng site (Hogland et al., 1996)
Category

Composition % (S.D.)

Moisture % (S.D.)

Calorific value (wwt) (MJ kg1 )

Corrugated cardboard
Office waste
Domestic/garden waste
Plastic
Wood
Textile
Metal
Other combustible
Non combustible

11.5 (2.3)
14.5 (4.8)
13.2 (5.3)
6.9 (5.7)
9.5 (3.6)
1.5 (1.3)
8.0 (4.0)
22.1 (8.3)
12.8 (12.4)

18 (15.5)
14 (12.7)
38 (17.6)

31 (24.7)
23 (7.8)

22

14
12
7
40
14
7
0
3
0

S.D., one standard deviation; wwt, wet weight.

from each other and 15 m in from the edge of the pile. Temperature, oxygen (O2 ), carbon
dioxide (CO2 ) and methane (CH4 ) concentrations were measured daily and the data stored
by a datalogger connected via modem to the computer system at the Department of Water
Resources Engineering, University of Lund.
Temperature was measured with thermocouples. Pile gas CO2 and CH4 concentrations
were measured by infrared absorption using a Leybold AG BINOS 1000-gas analyzer.
The O2 concentration was measured using a Leybold AG OXYNOS 100 oxygen analyzer,
which measures oxygen based on the paramagnetic properties of the gas. The gases were
withdrawn with a pump, and were dried and cooled to 5 C before analysis. The precision
of the gas analyses and temperature determinations was of the order of 2%.
Relative moisture content was measured at six levels (depths of about 0.10, 0.20, 0.50,
1.0, 1.5 and 2 m in the pile) using neutron probes inside two galvanized metal pipes inserted
vertically into the inner and the outer parts of the pile. Only (uncalibrated) relative values
for moisture content expressed as pulses per minute were available.

2.2. RDF storage pile


The MSW fraction, which is shredded to produce RDF, is the reject fraction obtained
from the screen of a mechanical sorting-composting plant for household waste, located
in Falkenberg. This fraction contains greater amounts of paper and plastic than unsorted
household waste and thus has a higher energy content. The RDF was stored at a stone
quarry in Steninge, on the west coast of Sweden, in a pile placed against a rock face.
The pile contained 5400 tonnes of mixed RDF and wood chips used to absorb moisture
from the waste. It was built up to 8 m high and was then covered with a wood chip layer
to minimize infiltration by rainwater. In order to avoid CH4 production, the pile was not
compacted and, in contrast to the IND storage pile, installed monitoring instrumentation
did not work properly; therefore, no reliable data on the interior of the pile were available.
The information presented here for the RDF piles concerns only observed leachate quality
following spontaneous combustion.

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W. Hogland, M. Marques / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 40 (2003) 5369

Fig. 1. Instrumentation for monitoring temperature, O2 , CO2 , CH4 and relative moisture content in an IND fuel pile.

W. Hogland, M. Marques / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 40 (2003) 5369

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3. Results
3.1. IND storage pile
During the first 6 months at the IND pile experimental site (Spillepeng), precipitation was
121 mm, ambient air temperature varied from 0 to 25 C, air pressure varied from 990 to
1035 hPa and wind speeds varied from 2 to 10 m s1 . After 3 months of storage, the height
of the piles had decreased to about 3.2 m (i.e. 80% of their original height) owing to settling.
Average moisture content had decreased during the storage period, but was higher in the
inner, than in the outer, part of the monitored pile. The highest moisture content was found
0.5 m below the surface at a depth of 2 m. The intermediate level (1.5 m) was the driest,
both in the inner and outer parts of the pile. This moisture distribution pattern is consistent
with the theory of vapor transportation by convection (see Section 4).
Different levels in the pile (1, 2 and 3 m) showed some variation in temperature at the
beginning. Over the first month, the average pile temperature increased from 49 10 to
73 7 C, after which it stabilized (see Fig. 2ac). The increase in temperature over the
first month coincided with considerable fluctuations in the observed O2 and CO2 concentration levels (see Fig. 2df). After the temperature had stabilized, smaller fluctuations were
observed in the O2 and CO2 levels. The O2 concentration was much lower at the bottom
than in the middle of the pile. Traces of CH4 were found with a local concentration of 1%
recorded in the middle and upper levels.
After 6 months storage, spontaneous combustion occurred in the monitored IND pile.
On the day preceding the fire, a strong wind had swept along the side of the pile where the
spontaneous ignition was observed.
The temperature in the pile had varied between 66 and 90 C, with the highest temperature
recorded being close to the surface (Fig. 3a). Next day, smoke was observed rising from
the edge of the pile. Half an hour later, the smoke had turned into flames, which burst forth
from the edge of the pile, resulting in the build-up of heavy smoke with a strong smell.
Covering the pile with clay controlled the fire.
The monitoring system continued to work for about another 24 h, after which it failed.
During the final 24 h of monitoring, the temperature at point A1 increased from 83 C to
approximately 240 C (Fig. 3a and d). This indicates that spontaneous ignition occurred
close to this area.
The high temperature observed at the points just below the surface of the pile is probably
due to channels within the waste, through which hot air from the combustion point could
rise to the surface. Simultaneously with the temperature increase, an increase in the average
oxygen level (14 6.9 19 2.6%) was observed (Fig. 3b and e).
On the day of the fire, the whole pile was evidently well aerated, while the day before, the lower level of the pile showed O2 depletion. The average CO2 level in the
pile was lower on the day of the spontaneous combustion than the day before (Fig. 3c
and f).
Ten days after the spontaneous ignition, three plastic tubes were inserted vertically into
the waste pile at the same monitoring levels of 1, 2 and 3 m, in order to monitor the decrease
in temperature and the changes in gas composition over a further 2 months (Tables 3 and 4).

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W. Hogland, M. Marques / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 40 (2003) 5369

Fig. 2. Parameter measurements during IND fuel storage. Gas measurements are shown for only one point
per level.

W. Hogland, M. Marques / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 40 (2003) 5369

61

Fig. 3. Temperature, O2 and CO2 1 day before (a, b, c), and on the day of combustion, following spontaneous
ignition (d, e and f) of the IND fuel storage pile.

The temperature had decreased to the same level as before the combustion and anaerobic
conditions had developed because of the covering of the pile with clay (Table 4).
The production of CH4 after less than 1 month of such anaerobic conditions was notable
(Table 3). Anaerobic degradation continued for a further month, with a 10% concentration
of CH4 detected in the upper level.
Methane gas was probably produced in O2 -free zones, but was rapidly transported upwards, thus giving higher levels at the top of the pile. High concentrations of CO2 were also
found.

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Table 3
Temperature profile ( C) after spontaneous ignition (12 September) of the IND pile
Level

Height (m)
22 September
25 September
28 September
2 October
6 October
7 October
9 October
13 October
14 October
6 November
16 November
1 December

1
80
87
83
81
80
75
72
70
67
52
48
44

2
80
84
82
78
75
80
80
78
67
70
66
61

3
60
66
62
58
56
55
56
52
50
40
35
31

3.2. RDF storage pile


After approximately 6 months storage, spontaneous combustion was also observed in
the RDF storage pile. No flames were observed unless an attempt was made to dig out
the fire, in which case flames would burst forth. This indicates that pyrolysis was probably in progress, but that conditions inside the pile were oxygen-limited. This hypothesis
was supported by the strong smell of the gases, typical of those resulting from incomplete
oxidation.
An attempt made by the fire brigade to extinguish the fire by pouring water onto the pile
was not successful.
The wetting procedure generated an additional environment problem: the pollutant load
leached out with the water. When the fire accelerated after 3 days, the pile was broken up
and the material spread out. This proved to be a very effective fire-control strategy, and after
5 days the fire had burnt itself out.
Only charred material and no ash could be observed in the residues after the fire.
The leachate from the fire area was analyzed and compared with those obtained from
landfill cells filled with both MSW and MSW incineration residues (about 50% fly ash) at
Spillepeng landfill (Table 5).
Table 4
Gas compositions 1 and 2 months after the fire in the IND pile
Date

Level

Height (m)

O2 (%)

CO2 (%)

CH4 (%)

13 October

A
B
C
A
B
C

1
2
3
1
2
3

1.6
1.4
1.4
0.5
0.4
0.5

20.0
23.0
25.8
18.4
20.9
21.5

3.0
5.0
12.5
3.9
6.1
10.0

14 November

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63

Table 5
Leachate from (a) burned RDF pile, (b) full-scale special cell containing fly ash (52% wwt) from MSW incineration
and (c) full-scale biocell containing MSW

Turbidity
SS
Cyanide
Phenol
NO2 Na
PH
BOD7 a
CODCr a
Cond
Ntot a
Ptot a
Ctot
K
S
Ca
Fe
Mn
Zna
Cra
Nia
Asa
Pb
Cu
Cd
Hg

Unit

(a) one or two


samples

(b) 28 samples,
median (range)

(c) 28 samples,
median (range)

FTU
mg l1
mg l1
mg l1
mg l1

mg l1
mg l1
mS m1
mg l1
mg l1
mg l1
mg l1
mg l1
mg l1
mg l1
mg l1
mg l1
mg l1
mg l1
mg l1
mg l1
mg l1
mg l1
mg l1

34
24
<0.01
1.0
0.19
5.4
3900
6300
348
200
7.3
400
756.6, 536.3
464.0, 298.4
316.2, 230.4
14.68, 6.81
1.57, 1.22
2.27, 3.89
0.87, 0.63
0.53, 0.33
0.14, 0.24
0.07, 0.15
0.06, 0.11
0.003, 0.003
<0.0005, <0.0005

nd
288 (262600)
nd
nd
0.045 (0.0050.13)
6.7 (6.2 7.6)
73 (9800)
775 (3103800)
5945 (147011900)
150 (16220)
0.475 (0.122.5)
27000 (1000057 782)
nd
nd
8050 (310013 000)
49 (6.8230)
3.85 (1.55.3)
1.1 (0.1356)
0.007 (0.0030.47)
0.032 (0.0021.1)
0.02 (0.0130.49)
0.56 (0.00351)
0.245 (0.0151.2)
0.025 (0.00050.61)
0.0005 (<0.00010.012)

nd
120 (49 1600)
nd
nd
0.011 (0.00111)
7.5 (6.48.3)
120 (40 8200)
910 (41011000)
1720 (9684020)
330 (140560)
3.1 (0.7513)
5362 (33032900)
nd
nd
705 (2101200)
15.5 (6.4610)
1.65 (0.587.7)
0.39 (0.0911)
0.028 (0.0030.49)
0.07 (0.0060.58)
0.02 (0.0130.44)
0.011 (0.0020.49)
0.105 (0.0230.44)
0.0005 (<0.00010.01)
0.0007 (<0.00010.007)

nd: not determined.


a Higher values in (a) compared with the median values in (b) and (c).

4. Discussion
Spontaneous combustion is an exothermic process, which requires combustible material,
an elevated temperature and oxygen to proceed (Grdens and Thrnqvist, 1984).
Some metals, such as iron, may serve as a catalyst increasing the rate of selfheating.
The type of ignition and the temperature developed in a waste storage pile are dependent
on factors such as:

particle size;
amount of organic material;
moisture content;
size of the waste pile;
surface area of the waste fuel available to reaction; and
the pressure over the pile (Tamaddon et al., 1995).

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W. Hogland, M. Marques / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 40 (2003) 5369

Fig. 4. Contributions of physical, biological and chemical processes to the temperature profile in a waste fuel
storage pile.

Fresh organic waste is sensitive to oxidation by biodegradation and presents a higher


risk of spontaneous combustion than waste material that has already been exposed to
the same biodegradation processes for a long period. The presence of carbon monoxide
(CO) in the evolved gases is a good indication of imminent selfignition (Tamaddon et al.,
1995).
Materials that increase the risk of spontaneous ignition in waste storage are food and
garden waste, fats, dairy products, coal, plastics, sawdust and iron filings, jute fabric, sodium
lamps, and waste from petrol stations such as rags and cans containing solvents (Thrnqvist,
1987).
Heat is produced in organic material when it is stored in large quantities through a number
of processes. Physical processes, such adsorption of water to dry surfaces, or condensation
of water vapor on cold surface, can lead to heat production (Thrnqvist, 1987), but these
physical processes are more significant at low temperatures, i.e. 20 C or less (Fig. 4).
Microbiological activity can also contribute to the temperature increases in the range
075 C, but such activity is of greatest importance for temperatures between 20 and 60 C.
The unsorted IND storage pile contained some household and garden waste, rich in easily
degradable carbohydrates, which resulted in a rapid temperature increase, so that, within
a month of storage, the temperature increased from an average of 49 to 73 C as a result
of microbiological activity. A similar temperature increase has been observed during the
storage of wood fuel (Thrnqvist, 1987). Above 70 C, there is still some microbiological
activity from thermophilic bacteria. However, the dominating heat-generating processes at
these higher temperatures are chemical oxidation processes (Fig. 4).

W. Hogland, M. Marques / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 40 (2003) 5369

65

Chemical oxidation liberates heat, but requires elevated temperatures. Chemical oxidation
processes start to contribute to the temperature increase even at 40 C. In the range 4050 C,
about 20% of the increase in temperature is due to chemical processes and between 50 and
60 C about 30% is due to chemical processes. Between 60 and 70 C, chemical processes
prevail over biological processes and can contribute up to 60% of the increase in temperature.
In other words, microbiological processes create the temperature necessary for chemical
processes to proceed. These elevated temperatures can then start an exothermic chemical
reaction, which may lead to spontaneous combustion.
In the monitored IND pile, after the initial temperature increase, the heat generated was
in equilibrium with the amount of heat removed from the pile by ventilation, resulting in
a constant temperature and a low internal O2 concentration. The pile had thus reached a
steady-state condition.
In several studies of spontaneous ignition in wood fuel storages, it has been found that
spontaneous ignition started at the interface between two fractions, such as the interface
between packed and unpacked material; adjacent to metal devices; adjacent to where wood
fuel had been removed; and in a slope of the pile that had previously been exposed to strong
winds (Thrnqvist, 1987). With O2 available from the wind, and a starting temperature of
about 80 C, the chemical oxidation processes accelerated and increased the temperature
until spontaneous ignition occurred. The findings from the study during the spontaneous
ignition in the IND pile support this hypothesis.
The height of the pile, an essential parameter used when planning waste fuel storages,
depends on the type of material. The optimum height for forest fuel has been found to be
from 6 to 16 m for non-compacted piles and from 4 to 12 m for compacted piles, depending
on the type of forest fuel stored (Thrnqvist, 1987). Safe storage of waste has been carried
out with piles no higher than 3 m (Bramryd et al., 1990; kesson et al., 1991). The RDF
pile was built up to a height of 8 m, and this probably contributed to the likelihood of
spontaneous combustion.
Biodegradation reactions cannot occur if the water content in the material is less than
2025% (Ernstson and Rasmuson, 1988). In fact, moisture content is an important parameter
in the heating process and its influence is 2-fold. The temperature increase is lower in moist
material because the heat capacity of the bed is higher. At higher temperatures, evaporation
leads to a decrease in heating rate by removing heat efficiently at the same time as the
moisture decreases locally. The transport of water is transient in nature, but changes in the
moisture content take place much more slowly than changes in oxygen concentration and
temperature (Ernstson and Rasmuson, 1990).
4.1. Theoretical basis for modelling the gas transport processes
Transport processes identified in piles of forest fuel cannot be used to explain what
occurs in waste fuel storage piles without some degree of uncertainty. Waste fuel differs
from wood chips for example, owing to the higher heterogeneity of the former with respect
to particle size, moisture content, composition and degradation rate. Therefore, it is more
difficult to theoretically describe the processes that occur during the storage of waste fuel.
However, the theoretical basis established for forest fuel storage (Ernstson, 1995; Ernstson
and Rasmuson, 1993; Ernstson et al., 1991; Ernstson and Rasmuson, 1990; Thrnqvist,

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W. Hogland, M. Marques / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 40 (2003) 5369

Fig. 5. Cross-section through a waste fuel storage pile (Collin et al., 1986). The grey gradient symbolizes different
temperature zones, which create gas flow by convection.

1988; Kubler, 1987; Collin et al., 1986, 1985) is in many respects, applicable to the results
observed here during the storage of waste fuels.
The relationships between different transport mechanisms have been investigated for
storages of forest fuel (Collin et al., 1986). The transport of O2 , heat and water in the
inner part of the pile is likely to occur mainly in the gas phase. It was found that during
storage of wood fuels, steam transport by natural convection played an important role in
heat transport, by comparison with thermal conduction. Furthermore, it was shown that
natural convection was the dominating mechanism for O2 transport, rather than diffusion
(Ernstson and Rasmuson, 1990).
The shape of the induced gas flow field can be estimated, to a large degree, by the
temperature profile, permeability, and the geometry of the pile (Collin et al., 1986). Air
flows into the sides of the heap, close to ground level, while outflow occurs in the upper,
horizontal layer of the pile (Fig. 5). Flow never reaches the inner, lower part of the pile.
The extent of the region in which airflow occurs is dependent on the temperature profile.
Natural convection is of great importance in the upper part of the pile and close to the slope
surface, while connective flow in the inner, lower part of the pile is very low.
Natural convection is a result of temperature increase in the storage piles where the
rising heated gas causes a corresponding suction. Gas flow rates can be estimated from
the density differences created by the temperature gradient, and the boundary conditions
of the pile. In order to be able to calculate the gas flow created by natural convection,
the temperature profile and the variation in the permeability within the storage pile must
be known.
Permeability is a very important parameter in the theory of oxygenation of storage piles.
For wood chip piles, the permeability has been estimated and the information used to
evaluate the importance of transport mechanisms for O2 , steam and heat. These three parameters are directly related to the decomposition rate. In the present study, permeability
was not investigated.
Since the incoming material is very heterogeneous, estimations made on one or few
samples are not representative of the whole material. The permeability of waste piles also
changes locally during storage due to non-uniform compaction rates in different parts of the
pile, which is related to non-uniform biodegradation rates due to variable content of readily

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67

degradable substances, and the weight of the material. The permeability distribution in the
pile will govern the major pathways for airflow in the pile (Ernstson, 1995).
In the storage of IND in piles, it was assumed that there was connective flow in the
upper and intermediate levels of the piles, by analogy with the forest fuel studies. The
measurements carried out showed higher concentrations of O2 in the upper and intermediate
levels of the pile (Fig. 2), indicating that the supply of O2 is not only dependent on diffusion.
The reason why the O2 concentration is higher in the intermediate level of the pile (2 m from
the bottom) rather than in the upper level (3 m from the bottom) is that air inflow occurs
through the lateral surface of the pile. The inflow is channeled, and the outflow occurs
through the upper surface of the pile (Fig. 5).
The higher temperature in the upper, inner part may be due to a flow of heated moisturized
gas through this region. Condensation occurs when the gas starts to cool, and heat is delivered
to this region by conduction and release of latent heat. In this way, the temperature front
will move upwards as moisture is transported towards the upper surface of the pile.
The CH4 concentration in the monitored IND pile fluctuated in all measurement points
from below detection limit (0.1%) to 1% during the 6 months of storage.
A marked depletion of O2 was observed after the first month of storage in the bottom of
the pile (level A), indicating that the basic condition required for anaerobic biodegradation
were met. Therefore, the possibility of continuous gas flow through this region can be
excluded, which fits well with the theory of natural convection described above. If only low
levels of oxygen are available, aerobic microorganisms are likely to consume all available
O2 and hence it will not be found in the gas analysis. After the fire, and the placement of a
clay top layer, anaerobic conditions prevailed and CH4 was measured in high proportion in
the gas in the pile.
Wind is expected to have an effect on the outer part of the pile. The temperature there will
be affected by wind-induced flows. An intermediate zone in the pile can also be assumed,
where the combined effects of convection and wind-induced flow govern gas flow.
High concentrations of several compounds were observed in the leachate produced from
the burned RDF pile, compared with median values from landfill cells containing MSW and
MSW incineration residues (Table 5). Remarkably, the concentration of Cr in the leachate
from the burned RDF pile was higher than maximum values found in leachates from landfill
cells containing both MSW and MSW incineration residues. This illustrates the importance
of stormwater/runoff quality control in waste fuel treatment and storage facilities for obtaining adequate environmental protection and pollution control.

5. Conclusions
With respect to the degree of compaction achieved when waste piles are constructed,
it is concluded that compaction cannot eliminate the risk of selfignition. Channeling and
natural convection create zones with sufficient moisture and oxygen supply to promote
biodegradation, leading to heating and spontaneous combustion in both compacted and
non-compacted piles. Considerable changes in temperature and gas composition occurred
during the first few weeks of storage, reflecting the intense biological activity taking place
in the readily biodegradable fraction of the waste. This raises the temperature into the

68

W. Hogland, M. Marques / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 40 (2003) 5369

optimum range for chemical oxidation reactions. Together with the wastes own weight,
this promotes settling. Therefore, similarly to landfills, regions with different permeability
are expected to develop.
Apparent steady-state conditions established in the pile after the first few months may
actually reflect continuous degradation with increased participation by nonbiological chemical processes, further increasing the temperature and reducing the energy content of the
waste material. At this point, in the presence of catalytic materials such as metals, optimum
conditions for spontaneous combustion are reached.
Some practical countermeasures to reduce the risk of fire are to remove coarse materials
such as tyres and readily degradable waste, such as garden and kitchen waste; avoid metallic
materials; ensure piles are lower than 5 m in height; construct the piles parallel to the
direction of the prevailing wind; protect piles from strong winds by wind barriers.
Baling of waste fuels, while is still dependent on further investigation and improvement
(Hogland, 1998), seems to be a more promising strategy than storage in loose piles, in terms
of preventing self-ignition, as it achieves better compaction, reduces the biodegradation rate
and thus loss of energy values during storage.

Acknowledgements
The financial support given by the Swedish National Energy Administration (Energimyndigheten) and The Foundation for Knowledge and Competence Development (KK-Stiftelsen)
is acknowledged, as well as is the cooperation of the company SYSAV AB.

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