Pyrolysis of Municipal Solid Waste for Syngas Production by Microwave Irradiation

The Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) gasification process is a promising candidate for both MSW disposal and syngas production. The MSW gasification process has been characterized thermo-gravimetrically under various experimental atmospheres in order to understand syngas production and char burnout. This preliminary data shows that with any concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere the residual char is reduced about 20% of the original mass (in an inert atmosphere) to about 5%, corresponding to a significant amount of carbon monoxide production (0.7% of CO was produced from a 20mg sample with 100ml/min of purge gas at 825°C). Two main steps of thermal degradation have been observed. The first thermal degradation step occurs at temperatures between 280∼350°C and consists mainly of the decomposition of the biomass component into light C1–3-hydrocarbons. The second thermal degradation step occurs between 380∼450°C and is mainly attributed to polymer components, such as plastics and rubber, in MSW. The polymer component in MSW gave off significant amount of benzene derivatives such as styrene. In order to identify the optimal operating regime for MSW gasification, a series of tests covering a range of temperatures (280∼700°C), pressures (30∼45 Bar), and atmospheres (100% N2, 0∼20%CO2+Bal. N2 with/without steam) have been done and the results are presented here.

Download Full-text

Modelling of syngas production from municipal solid waste (MSW) for methanol synthesis

Acta Chimica Slovaca ◽

10.1515/acs-2017-0019 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 107-114 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Patrik Šuhaj ◽

Jakub Husár ◽

Juma Haydary

Keyword(s):

Municipal Solid Waste ◽

Solid Waste ◽

Process Design ◽

Electricity Generation ◽

Liquid Fuel ◽

Process Optimisation ◽

Methanol Production ◽

Syngas Production ◽

Gasification Process ◽

Refuse Derived Fuel

AbstractApproximately 1 300 Gt of municipal solid waste (MSW) are produced worldwide every year. Most of it is disposed of in landfills, which is very hazardous for the environment. Up to 10 % of produced MSW are incinerated. However, incineration is not very effective and requires specific conditions for preventing emissions. Gasification and pyrolysis are more effective processes which can be used not only for heat and electricity generation but also for fuel and valuable chemicals production. MSW can be transformed into refuse-derived fuel (RDF) which has higher heat of combustion. Synthesis gas produced by RDF gasification can be utilised in methanol production. Methanol is a very lucrative chemical which can be used as renewable liquid fuel or as a reagent in organic syntheses. Gasifier design and process optimisation can be done using a reliable mathematical model. A good model can significantly decrease the number of experiments necessary for the gasification process design. In this work, equilibrium model for RDF gasification was designed in Aspen Plus environment and the flow of oxygen and steam as gasification agents were optimised to achieve the highest theoretical methanol yield. Impact of the recycle of unreacted steam and produced tar on the methanol yield was evaluated. The highest theoretical methanol yield (0.629 kgMEOH/kgRDF) was achieved when the steam and tar recycle were switched on, the ratio between oxygen and RDF feed was 0.423 kg/kg and that between the steam and RDF feed was 0.606 kg/kg. In this case, fresh steam represented only 12 % of the total steam fed to the reactor, the rest consisted of recycled steam. Optimal gasifier temperature was 900 °C.

Download Full-text

Simulation of Syngas Production from Municipal Solid Waste Gasification in a Bubbling Fluidized Bed Using Aspen Plus

Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research ◽

10.1021/ie400026b ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 52 (42) ◽

pp. 14768-14775 ◽

Cited By ~ 52

Author(s):

Miaomiao Niu ◽

Yaji Huang ◽

Baosheng Jin ◽

Xinye Wang

Keyword(s):

Municipal Solid Waste ◽

Solid Waste ◽

Fluidized Bed ◽

Aspen Plus ◽

Syngas Production ◽

Bubbling Fluidized Bed ◽

Waste Gasification

Download Full-text

Transforming Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Into Fuel via the Gasification/Pyrolysis Process

18th Annual North American Waste-to-Energy Conference ◽

10.1115/nawtec18-3559 ◽

2010 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Eilhann Kwon ◽

Kelly J. Westby ◽

Marco J. Castaldi

Keyword(s):

Municipal Solid Waste ◽

Solid Waste ◽

Residence Time ◽

Scale Up ◽

Chemical Species ◽

Steam Gasification ◽

Drop Tube ◽

Pyrolysis Oil ◽

Pyrolysis Process ◽

Syngas Production

Municipal solid waste (MSW) gasification/pyrolysis enhancement using CO2 as gasification medium has been studied to understand the performance under various reaction conditions. MSW gasification/pyrolysis has been characterized thermo-gravimetrically under various atmospheres covering the gasification/pyrolysis process, which has been used as a basis for scale-up experimental work using a flow-through reactor (FTR) and drop tube reactor (DTR) (0.5 g/min of sample, 4–5 sec residence time, 500°C-1000°C). For example, FTR has been used to carry out the fast pyrolysis process having a nominal heating rate of 800°C/min. Oils produced from the FTR have been condensed and analyzed with GC/MS. Among identified chemical species in the pyrolysis sample, the 10 most abundant compounds (benzene, toluene, styrene, limonene, 2,3-dimethyl-1-heptene, benzoic acid, ethylbenzene, indole, xylene, and d-allose) in the pyrolysis oil sample were determined and quantified. These 10 abundant chemical species are substantially reduced in the presence of CO2. This leads to a substantial increase of C1–5 hydrocarbons in gaseous (non-condensable) products and a reduction of pyrolysis oil (∼20%) as well. In addition, MSW samples have been tested in the DTR at a temperature range from 500°C and 1000°C under various atmospheres with CO2 concentrations of 0% and 30%. The release of all chemical species from the DTR was determined using μ-GC. For example, CO (∼30%), H2 (∼25%), and CH4 (∼10%) under the presence of CO2 were generated and introducing CO2 into the gasification process substantially enhanced syngas production. Finally, steam gasification using different ratios of biomass to polyethylene has been explored to better understand the enhanced steam gasification of MSW that is mostly composed of biomass and polymer. Overall thermal degradation trend is the similar, but steam gasification of MSW needs a relatively long residence time and high temperature as compared to biomass.

Download Full-text