In terms of the operational process, mass burn facilities differ from refuse derived fuel plants by which characteristic?

Mass burn facilities and refuse-derived fuel (RDF) plants represent different approaches to waste management, particularly in their methods of waste treatment.

In mass burn facilities, the process involves the direct incineration of municipal solid waste without extensive preprocessing to remove recyclables or non-combustibles. The waste is typically fed into a furnace and burned, which transforms it into energy through combustion. This method primarily relies on the volume of waste being burnt to produce energy.

In contrast, RDF plants focus on preprocessing waste to create a homogenous fuel product. This involves separating materials that are unsuitable for combustion, such as metals and certain plastics, and processing the remaining organic materials into a densified fuel form. The refined fuel produced is then combusted in a separate energy recovery system designed specifically for RDF.

Thus, the distinction in methods of waste treatment—directly burning unpreprocessed waste versus creating a fuel from processed materials—highlights the key difference between these two operational processes. This understanding of the operational characteristics underscores the importance of recognizing how different technologies manage the waste-to-energy conversion process, which is essential for effective environmental management and compliance in public health.