The growing industrial waste production creates serious environmental and management problems, particularly in textile-intensive regions. This study examines textile-based refuse-derived fuel (t-RDF) as a sustainable waste-to-energy route. Nine laboratory-prepared formulations (t-RDF-a to t-RDF-i) were developed using textile, plastic, paper, enzyme sludge, and solid sludge, and one industrial RDF sample sourced from a BD textile factory made of cotton dust. The characterization was performed in a comprehensive manner by proximate and elemental analysis, FTIR spectroscopy, thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), kinetic modeling, and emission estimation. The t-RDF-f (100% textile) showed the best fuel properties of all samples with the highest calorific value of 16.26 MJ/kg (on proximate basis), 19.51 MJ/kg on elemental basis (with ash), and the lowest ash content (0.45%), significantly better than other blended and industrial samples. The FTIR confirmed dominant hydroxyl and aliphatic functional groups across all the samples. The TGA showed multi-stage degradation (300–420 °C), with t-RDF-f showing the most stable thermal behavior. Kinetic analysis indicated second-order reactions for t-RDF-a, t-RDF-c, and t-RDF-e (Ea: 47.29–54.53 kJ/mol), whereas t-RDF-d, t-RDF-f, and industrial samples followed D 3 diffusion mechanisms, with t-RDF-f exhibiting lower activation energy (35.62 kJ/mol), indicating enhanced reactivity. The theoretical emission profiles showed CO 2 emissions of 1304.97–1724.07 kg/ton. The higher CO 2 of t-RDF-f was due to the higher carbon content, but SO 2 was low (1.48 kg/ton), and NO 2 exhibited controlled emission. According to the Van Krevelen analysis, t-RDF samples showed lower O/C, higher H/C, and improved energy density, and the Tanner diagram indicated that all samples had self-sustained combustibility.
Saha et al. (2026) studied this question.