6T/H Waste Textiles Wood Paper RDF Pellet Factory in Türkiye

Project Background: From Sector-Specific Waste to Cross-Industrial Fuel

The Denizli region is a powerhouse of Türkiye's economy, renowned for its textile industry and supported by a robust wood processing and furniture manufacturing sector. These industries generate vast quantities of specific, clean waste: fabric off-cuts from textile production, sawdust and shavings from woodworking, and paper and cardboard from packaging.

Historically, these materials represented a disposal cost and a logistical challenge. Concurrently, the region's industrial heating sector, particularly a large lime plant, was heavily reliant on expensive imported natural gas.

Our client, a consortium with deep roots in these manufacturing sectors, identified a strategic opportunity to create a circular economy that bridged different industries. By investing in a specialized waste textiles wood paper RDF pellet factory in Türkiye, they could solve a persistent waste problem for their members while creating a new, stable revenue stream and providing a cost-effective energy solution for a neighboring industry. The primary investment drivers were:

• Sector-Specific Waste Elimination: To provide a dedicated, environmentally sound outlet for the textile, wood, and paper waste generated by consortium members, eliminating landfill costs and associated environmental liabilities.
• Energy Cost Arbitrage: To manufacture a solid fuel that could be sold at a price competitive with, and typically below, the cost of natural gas, creating a profitable business model.
• Enhanced Sustainability Profile: To demonstrably reduce the carbon footprint of both the waste-generating and fuel-consuming industries, aligning with Türkiye's green growth action plan and improving ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) credentials for all involved companies.

Initial discussions with RICHI Machinery commenced in September 2023, following a detailed waste audit of the consortium members. A project proposal was accepted in December 2023, and the contract for the RDF pellet production line was finalized in February 2024.

Project Overview and Key Specifications

This project involved the fit-out of an existing, leased industrial building to create a dedicated processing facility. The primary objective was to design a highly efficient plant that could handle the specific fibrous and abrasive nature of the feedstock to produce a consistent, high-grade fuel.

Raw Material Profile: A Homogeneous and High-Value Feedstock

The distinct advantage of this waste textiles wood paper RDF pellet factory in Türkiye is the quality and homogeneity of its feedstock. Sourced directly from the consortium's member factories, the waste streams are well-characterized, clean, and have complementary properties that create an ideal fuel blend.

Sourcing and Quality Assurance:
The consortium's structure is the key to feedstock quality. Members are contractually obligated to deliver segregated, clean production waste, free from contaminants like plastics, metals, or hazardous materials. This "closed-loop" sourcing model eliminates the need for a complex and expensive pre-sorting plant. The inherent calorific values of these materials (Textiles: ~17,450 kJ/kg, Wood: ~18,610 kJ/kg, Paper: ~16,750 kJ/kg) blend to produce a final RDF pellet consistently within the 17,000 - 18,000 kJ/kg range, making it a premium alternative fuel.

Facility Layout and Operational Flow

The leased facility was strategically partitioned to ensure a logical, linear flow from raw material intake to finished product dispatch, optimizing internal logistics.

The RICHI RDF Pellet Line: Precision Engineering for Fibrous Materials

The technology selected for this waste textiles wood paper RDF pellet factory in Türkiye is a two-stage shredding and densification process, specifically engineered to handle the tough, fibrous nature of textiles and the abrasive quality of wood waste.

Process Description:

1. Pre-Inspection and Unbagging: Incoming bales of textile and paper are inspected. A dedicated unbagging machine opens and breaks apart the compressed bales to prepare the material for shredding.
2. Primary Coarse Shredding: The mixed feedstock is fed into the primary shredder. This machine uses a shear-force mechanism to tear apart the tangled textile bales and reduce wood pieces to a coarse flake, typically around 100mm. This stage is critical for initial size reduction and homogenization.
3. Magnetic Separation (First Pass): The coarsely shredded material passes under a suspended overband magnet. This efficiently extracts ferrous metals (e.g., staples from fabric, nails from wood pallets), protecting the downstream, more sensitive equipment.
4. Secondary Fine Shredding: The material is then conveyed to a secondary, high-speed shredder. This stage refines the feedstock into a uniform "fluff" with a particle size of less than 30mm. This consistency is vital for creating a homogeneous mix that can be reliably and efficiently pelletized.
5. Magnetic Separation (Second Pass): A second magnetic separator ensures the removal of any remaining ferrous contaminants, guaranteeing a clean final product that meets the strict metal content specifications of the lime kiln.
6. Densification and Pelletizing: The cleaned and sized material is fed into two RICHI 5 t/h pellet mills. Within the pellet mill, the material is subjected to extreme pressure as it is forced through a hardened steel die. The combination of this pressure and the frictional heat generated causes the natural and synthetic fibers to plasticize and bind together, forming dense, durable pellets without any need for external binders. The slight pre-heating of the die ensures a smooth start-up and consistent pellet quality from the beginning of the production run.
7. Cooling and Packaging: The hot, freshly extruded pellets are cooled in a dedicated cooler to stabilize their structure and prevent degradation during storage. The cooled pellets are then automatically weighed and packaged into 1-tonne bulk bags for efficient handling and transport to the lime plant.

Environmental Management and Community Integration

• Dust Control: The entire shredding and pelleting process is enclosed. Dust generated at key transfer points is captured by local exhaust ventilation and treated by a high-efficiency bag-house filter, with cleaned air discharged through a 15-meter stack (DA001). A misting system is employed in the raw material receiving area to suppress any fugitive dust during unloading.
• Noise Control: The production hall is a fully enclosed building. High-noise equipment, such as the shredders, is installed on vibration-dampening mounts, and the plant operates within the designated hours of the industrial zone.
• Waste Management: The process is remarkably efficient. The primary output is the RDF pellet. The only other significant output is the recovered ferrous metal, which is sold to local scrap metal recyclers. The plant operates on a near-zero waste-to-landfill principle for its processed feedstock.
• Water Usage: The production process is entirely dry. Minimal water is used for the dust suppression misting system, which evaporates.

Product Quality and Industrial Application

The final RDF pellet is a premium, engineered fuel that meets the specific requirements of the lime production process, which demands consistent quality and high combustibility.

The sole offtaker is a modern lime plant located less than 50km from the factory. The RDF pellets are used in the lime kiln's secondary combustion system, significantly reducing its reliance on natural gas and stabilizing its energy costs.

Economic Viability and Investment Breakdown

The investment for this waste textiles wood paper RDF pellet factory in Türkiye was highly attractive, with a payback period accelerated by the combination of waste tipping fees avoided by consortium members and the revenue from pellet sales.

Investment Prospects in Türkiye and Concluding Remarks

The successful launch of this waste textiles wood paper RDF pellet factory in Türkiye underscores a significant and replicable opportunity within the country's robust manufacturing sector. Türkiye's strong position in textiles, automotive, and other light industries provides a vast and steady supply of similar industrial waste streams. The government's increasing focus on circular economy principles and energy independence creates a favorable policy landscape for such investments.

This project is a benchmark for how industry-specific waste can be systematically valorized through cross-sectoral collaboration. It provides a tangible solution that enhances competitiveness, reduces environmental impact, and contributes to regional energy security.

Why RICHI Machinery was the Partner of Choice:
The client selected RICHI Machinery for our specialized expertise in designing shredding and densification systems for challenging fibrous materials like textiles. Our equipment is renowned for its durability, low maintenance, and ability to produce a highly consistent pellet from a variable feedstock. We delivered a fully integrated solution that was commissioned on time and has