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Production, quality and quality assurance, as well as co-incineration of solid recovered fuels in cement industry, have become state-of-the-art in the European cement industry. At the global level, average thermal substitution rate is about 17%, whereby, only 13% in Canada and in the USA 16%, while in the European Union 28 it is about 44% (i.e. 11,300,000 t waste fuels utilised in 2016). In Austria, thermal substitution rate was ca. 80% in 2017, which was worldwide the highest one. Regarding solid recovered fuels for the cement industry, two types are relevant, namely solid recovered fuels PREMIUM Quality and solid recovered fuels MEDIUM Quality. In the case study shown, solid recovered fuels PREMIUM Quality from 11 and solid recovered fuels MEDIUM Quality from nine different solid recovered fuels production plants have been investigated. Investigations consist of sorting and sieving analyses (for PREMIUM), as well as physical–chemical analyses (for both solid recovered fuels types) according to the (inter)national standards (i.e. Austrian ‘ÖNORM’, European ‘EN’ standards and CEN TC 343 guidelines). The results gained from the first investigation were published in 2014 and here, results of further investigations are updated for 2016 and 2018 and confronted with legal and market relevant requirements. During the investigation, not enough parallel samples could be investigated and therefore no adequate scientific statistical analyses could be elaborated but a more practical indicative interpretation has been made. Finally, it can be confirmed, that all investigated solid recovered fuels fulfil the Austrian legal and international solid recovered fuels and co-incineration market requirements.

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The production of Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF) and related energy recovery in the European cement industry represents the state of the art in waste management, having evolved into a highly important part of a sustainable and circular economy. This paper describes the production and quality of eight Solid Recovered Fuels (SRF) of PREMIUM quality that are produced from Municipal (Mixed) and selected Commercial Wastes (i.e. Bulky and Lightweight Fraction from Plastic Sorting Plants) in three types of treatment plants located in four European countries, namely Austria, Croatia, Slovenia and Slovakia. The investigated SRF PREMIUM Quality was produced in three different Plant Types applying various process technologies. All three types have been investigated and are described in detail (i.e. flow sheet). Eight SRF PREMIUM Qualities have been comprehensively investigated by sorting, sieving, and physical-chemical analyses. Analyses performed are in accordance with (inter)national standards (i.e. Austrian “ÖNORM”, European “EN” standards and CEN TC 343 guidelines). The results gained show that all investigated SRF fulfil the Austrian quality requirements for heavy metals before co-incineration in the cement industry and it can be confirmed that SRF produced in the investigated plants in Austria, Croatia, Slovenia and Slovakia in fact may be declared as “SRF PREMIUM Quality” that can be used for energy recovery on the European SRF market and utilized in the European cement industry.

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In contemporary waste management, sampling of waste is essential whenever a specific parameter needs to be determined. Although sensor-based continuous analysis methods are being developed and enhanced, many parameters still require conventional analytics. Therefore, sampling procedures that provide representative samples of waste streams and enable sufficiently accurate analysis results are crucial. While Part I estimated the relative sampling variabilities for material classes in a replication experiment, Part II focuses on relative sampling variabilities for 30 chemical elements and the lower heating value of the same samples, i.e., 10 composite samples screened to yield 9 particle size classes (< 5 mm–400 mm). Variabilities < 20% were achieved for 39% of element-particle size class combinations but ranged up to 203.5%. When calculated for the original composite samples, variabilities < 20% were found for 57% of the analysis parameters. High variabilities were observed for elements that are expectedly subject to high constitutional heterogeneity. Besides depending on the element, relative sampling variabilities were found to depend on particle size and the mass of the particle size fraction in the sample. Furthermore, Part I and Part II results were combined, and the correlations between material composition and element concentrations in the particle size classes were interpreted and discussed. For interpretation purposes, log-ratios were calculated from the material compositions. They were used to build a regression model predicting element concentration based on material composition only. In most cases, a prediction accuracy of ± 20% of the expected value was reached, implying that a mathematical relationship exists.

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