ENERGY PRODUCTION FROM WASTES BY THERMAL GASIFICATION PROCESSES

Rapid increases in power generation from renewable sources are being advocated as part of the global strategy to reduce CO2 emissions. Renewable energy technologies range from the well established, such as hydropower, to the emergent, such as biomass gasification. Each technology has its own individual materials requirements, to permit reductions in capital costs, to increase longevity in harsh environments, or to enable generating efficiency to be increased. The status of all of the major renewable energy technologies is briefly reviewed with particular emphasis on the structural materials issues and advances pertinent to their further development. The technologies covered include wind, hydro, wave and tidal, waste and biomass combustion and gasification, geothermal, solar thermal, and solar photovoltaic.

Journal Vol – 15 No -7, July 2020 Journal > Journal > Journal Vol – 15 No -7, July 2020 > Page 6 PERFORMANCE AND EMISSION CHARACTERISTICS OF GASOLINE-ETHANOL BLENDS ON PFI-SI ENGINE Authors: D.Vinay Kumar ,G.Samhita Priyadarsini,V.Jagadeesh Babu,Y.Sai Varun Teja, DOI NO: https://doi.org/10.26782/jmcms.2020.07.00051 admin July 26, 2020 Abstract: Alcohol based fuels can be produced from renewable energy sources and

A search of websites for firms in the United States and Canada identifying themselves as gasification or pyrolysis system suppliers indicates that there are a number of existing facilities where their technologies are installed. According to the websites, the companies’ existing installations focus on processing biomass and industrial residuals, rather than mixed refuse. The biomass processed, according to the websites includes yard waste, wood, and wastewater treatment sludge. The existence of these facilities provides a potential opportunity for communities in areas with a high density of development, who experience difficulties in siting “traditional” facilities for processing these biomass wastes. Such traditional facilities include yard waste and sludge composting, wood mulching, sludge drying, chemical treatment or pelletization, and combustion-based waste-to-energy. As a result of these facility siting difficulties, these communities often resort to long-haul trucking of the biomass wastes to processing facilities or landfills. Certain potential advantages associated with gasification and pyrolysis technologies could ease the siting difficulties associated with the traditional technologies, due to smaller facility footprints, reduced odors, and the potential for energy production through combustion of syngas/synfuel to power internal combustion engines or produce steam using boilers. Lower stack emissions may result as compared to direct combustion of biomass wastes. Locally sited biomass gasification facilities could reduce the environmental impacts associated with long-haul trucking and generate an energy product to meet nearby demand. Research has been conducted by the Author on behalf of client communities to identify gasification and pyrolysis facilities in the United States and Canada that are in actual operation in order to assess their potential for processing biomass wastes and for providing the advantages listed above. Website reviews, interviews with company representatives, and facility visits were conducted in order to assess their potential for development to meet the biomass management objectives of the communities. The information sought regarding design and operating parameters included the following: • Year of start-up. • Availability. • Process description. • Design throughput. • Actual throughput. • Energy product. • Energy generation capability and technology. • Residuals production and characteristics. • Emissions. • Construction and operating costs. In addition, the system suppliers’ business status was addressed in terms of their readiness and capabilities to participate in the development of new facilities. Confidentiality requirements imposed by the system suppliers may prevent the identification of the company name or facility location and certain details regarding the system designs.

Kicking the Oil Addiction

Biomass materials are been considered as a useful and important raw material for energy production for different countries including India. Biomass materials originated from agricultural and kitchen waste have several benefits; considering these benefits it offers different advantageous uses like the production of cooking gas, generation of power and the conversion into value-added recycled items. By efficient and effective utilization of agricultural and kitchen waste for above mentioned purposes may be a good solution for waste management. Waste biomass has the ability to generate renewable power, cooking gas, etc. and it also has the possibilities to generate services for rural youths in different countries like India, other Asian and African countries. At present, global development is an agenda but this has several disadvantages due to human and industrial activities that are directly and indirectly related to challenges of human health, the health of our planet and its ecosystems. Agricultural waste and kitchen wastes are available in plenty; therefore, the focus is to be given to the use of these wastes into alternative fuels to minimize environmental pollution. Around the world, in many countries including India, this waste biomass is maybe one of the best choices for clean energy production, especially for modern energy applications like bioenergy power plants and biomass gasifiers that produce biogas. In principle, they use a significant amount of waste biomass (food waste, agriculture residue and forestry biomass). It is expected that till 2040, biomass waste-based power generation will increase five to six times than present power generation and this will contribute to the reliable power supply in the rural areas. Therefore, to support modern biomass-based technologies, the use of agricultural and kitchen waste for bioenergy should be increased; as of now, these supplies are limited due to high costs and low finance support. This is a fully developed resource, its utilization has not only the potential to provide common benefits like electricity generation and biogas production but its use can also reduce the required dumping area. We can also diminish the chances of air, water, and soil contamination and ecological health. Subsidies and incentives schemes are promoted by India’s Ministry of Renewable Energy to use waste as a renewable energy source and to encourage technologies based on biomass waste utilization. All the aspects of clean energy production from agricultural and kitchen waste biomass are reviewed and discussed in this chapter.

The necessity of economical and rational use of natural energy sources caused a rapid development of research on the possibilities of using non-conventional energy resources. Taking the above into account, a new technological process of thermochemical conversion of biomass and communal waste, commonly known as High Temperature Air/Steam Gasification (HTA/SG) and Multi-Staged Enthalpy Extraction Technology (HTAG-MEET), was developed. In relation to traditional techniques of gasification or combustion of hydrocarbon fuels, the presented concept is characterized by higher thermal efficiency of the process, low emission of harmful compounds of carbon, sulfur, nitrogen, dioxins, furans and heavy metals. The use of a high-temperature gasification factor causes an increased thermochemical decomposition of solid fuels, biomass and municipal waste into gaseous fuel (syngas), also with increased hydrogen content and Lower Calorific Value (LCV). In this study, the possibility of using a batch type reactor (countercurrent gasifier) was analyzed for gasification of biomass and municipal waste in terms of energy recovery and environmental protection. The proposed research topic was aimed at examining the possibility of using the thermal utilization of biomass and municipal waste through their high-temperature decomposition in the presence of air, a mixture of air and steam. The main goals of the research were achieved during the implementation of several parallel stages of the schedule, which included, primarily: (a) study of the possibility of using thermal utilization of biomass and municipal waste through their high-temperature gasification in the presence of air or a mixture of air and steam and, secondary (b) analytical and numerical modeling of high-temperature gasification of biomass and municipal waste with the use of ANSYS CFD Fluent 6.3 software. Selected results of the experimental and numerical studies are properly presented. The higher temperature gasification concept shows the capability of this technology for maximizing the gaseous product yield in an up-draft fixed bed gasifier. It was also observed that at a high temperature, steam addition contributed to the thermal conversion of biofuels to gas with higher production of hydrogen.

Biomass is a renewable, yet scarce resource since land is limited. This thesis addresses the question how to efficiently convert the available lignocellulosic biomass and biomass wastes to fuel and other useful energy services. In particular, it presents a systematic methodology for the conceptual design of thermochemical processes and demonstrates it at the production of Synthetic Natural Gas (SNG) through conventional biomass gasification and methanation, or hydrothermal gasification of biomass wastes. Through an appropriate mathematical decomposition of the design problem, thermo-economic process modelling, advanced process integration techniques and multi-objective optimisation are combined to provide a set of parameter- and scale-independent flowsheets for the optimal trade-off between several design targets. The results of various design studies consistently demonstrate that process integration plays a critical role in the synthesis of energy- and cost-efficient processes. It allows both for a rational energy recovery by cogeneration and process intensification. Considerable potential is furthermore assessed for combining several complementary processes for an appropriate and complete conversion of the resource, which might decidedly improve the environmental performance of fuel production from biomass and stresses the importance of a systematic process design.

More than one billion people worldwide still lack access to electricity. Rural electrification via gasification has the potential to satisfy electricity access and demand. This study conducts an economic evaluation of rural electrification through gasification of biomass and municipal solid waste (MSW) using a 60 kW downdraft gasifier, developed at Oklahoma State University. The effects of feedstock cost, electricity selling price, feed-in-tariff, tipping fee, tax rate, and the output power are evaluated using major financial parameters: the net present value, internal rate of return, modified internal rate of return, simple payback period, and discounted payback period, and sensitivity analysis. Results show that the downdraft gasification power system offers a payback period of 7.7 years, while generating an internal rate of return, modified internal rate of return, and net present value of 10.9%, 7.7%, and $84,550, respectively. Results from a sensitivity analysis indicate that the feed-in-tariff has the greatest positive contribution to the project’s net present value. Using MSW, the gasification power system potentially reduces carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide emissions as compared to direct combustion and landfill. The technology provides a promising future for rural electrification utilizing biomass and MSW whilst offering economic and environmental benefits for local communities.

Sustainable energy production is a worldwide concern due to the adverse effects and limited availability of fossil fuels, requiring the development of suitable environmentally friendly alternatives. Hydrogen is considered a sustainable future energy source owing to its unique properties as a clean and nontoxic fuel with high energy yield and abundance. Hydrogen can be produced through renewable and nonrenewable sources where the production method and feedstock used are indicators of whether they are carbon-neutral or not. Biomass is one of the renewable hydrogen sources that is also available in large quantities and can be used in different conversion methods to produce fuel, heat, chemicals, etc. Biomass gasification is a promising technology to generate carbon-neutral hydrogen. However, tar production during this process is the biggest obstacle limiting hydrogen production and commercialization of biomass gasification technology. This review focuses on hydrogen production through catalytic biomass gasification. The effect of different catalysts to enhance hydrogen production is reviewed, and social, technological, economic, environmental, and political (STEEP) analysis of catalysts is carried out to demonstrate challenges in the field and the development of catalysts.

Gasification of municipal solid waste blends with biomass for energy production and resources recovery: Current status, hybrid technologies and innovative prospects

Climate changes will have a huge impact on society, one that cannot be truly predicted. However, what is known is that our dependence on fossil feedstock for energy, fuel and chemical production will need to shift towards more biobased and circular feedstock. This paper describes part of an important technology development that uses biogenic and plastic-containing waste streams for the co-production of aromatics with fuels and/or chemicals. This paper captures the first decade of this technology development from idea towards a large Process Demonstration Unit operated and validated within a large gasification R&D infrastructure. The scale-up was successful, with supporting tools to optimize and identify the limits of the technology. Benzene and toluene are directly removed from the product gas with 97% and 99% efficiency, respectively. The next steps will be to include this development in larger piloting and demonstrations for the co-production of aromatics from biomass gasification (biobased chemicals) or aromatics from plastic-containing waste gasification (circular chemicals).

With the advent of postmodernism, renewable energy sources gained more strength. Postmodernism emerged between 1968 and 1972, and now all constructions seek a reason, there is nothing absolute anymore, so there is no longer a need to use only non-renewable sources, as postmodernism brought an idea of deconstruction. Foucault believes that a more viable and sustainable production is not something sedentary, but nomadic, that is, it undergoes changes seeking improvements (HARVEY, 2004). The new technologies that emerge daily require more and more energy, however, planet Earth is going through a complicated period called global warming, that is, it can no longer support such carbon dioxide emissions and such waste of its resources. The most plausible solution would be to produce energy using fewer natural resources and releasing fewer pollutants into the atmosphere. Strategies and projects that encourage energy conservation, waste reduction, and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions are being employed in various countries. Two examples are the United States and the members of the European Union. The United States, during the oil supply crisis in 1970, formulated its first efficiency standards (DIXON, 2010). In the same period, the European Union created legal instruments aimed at reducing energy demand and pollutant emissions (FOUQUET, 2013). Clean energy is derived from natural resources that are replenished on a larger scale than they are consumed, for example: there is more sunlight entering the planet than mankind will ever be able to use. However, they produce much fewer problems for nature compared to non-renewables, as when fossil fuel is burned to produce energy, it causes a large and dangerous emission of carbon dioxide. Renewables also produce this harmful gas, but at a much lower level, making them useful in the fight against the climate crisis the world is facing. Until now, the renewable sources are: biomass, wind, hydro, ocean (tidal), geothermal, green hydrogen, and solar (NADARAJAH et al., 2016). Countries like Brazil, the United States, and the European Union bloc have devised paths to meet this domestic demand. The Ministry of Mines and Energy has composed two long-term projects, called the National Energy Plan – PNE 2030 and 2050. The second aims for a Brazilian energy matrix with over 50% renewable sources. (JANNUZZI, 2005). The United States has a clean energy plan. This aims to boost the production of clean energy from wind and solar sources, with the goal of promoting better sustainability for the country. The U.S. Department of Energy is working to promote the efficiency of new energy projects in areas with the goal of expanding the production of solar energy, onshore wind energy, and geothermal energy. The goal for solar aims to increase the generation of solar energy delivered in the country from the current 4% to 40% by 2035 and to 45% by 2050 . The challenges that the European Union (EU) faces in the energy sector include issues such as the increasing dependence on imports and the growing global energy demand. The EU's goal is to achieve the target of 20% energy efficiency by 2020, but a new update extended the deadline to 2030 and set the percentage at 32.5% for the increase of renewable sources in the energy mix of the countries in this bloc . The focus of this is solar energy, as among the various other renewable energy sources, it is the most promising and freely available energy source. The world's main energy source, oil, besides being a fossil fuel highly harmful to the ozone layer, is limited and expensive, and the other sources are still far from becoming as efficient and economically viable as solar energy has already become. Therefore, the sun is a great "tool" to develop the economic status of emerging countries and to bring dignity to disadvantaged people. According to the table, all renewable sources are in full development and expansion worldwide. Solar energy (yellow) is falling behind only hydroelectric (blue). In 2000, the world produced 1228 MW, in 2021 the world produced 854795 MW, so there was an increase of approximately 69000%. China is currently leading the annual production ranking with a capacity of 253.4 GW. In 2020, Brazil ranked ninth among the countries that increased their capacity the most within their territory, with an increase of 3.1 GW in capacity in that year alone. Taking advantage of government programs, the Evangelical University of Goiás – UniEvangélica, partnered with the company ENEL Brazil. In this project, a parking lot containing 2,900 solar panels was built, generating an annual savings of approximately 2,400 MWh. This solar parking lot supplies 60% of all the energy that Unievangélica demands. The general objective of this work was to analyze, based on bibliographic and documentary research, the main concepts, definitions, and approaches related to energy efficiency. The studies are based on international and Brazilian projects and public policies on the subject. Thus, based on these studies, they aim to construct ideal scenarios, keywords, and analyses of historical and contemporary contexts related to renewable energy production and its relationship with global issues such as climate change and global warming.

Comparative study on air gasification of plastic waste and conventional biomass based on coupling of AHP/TOPSIS multi-criteria decision analysis

Radical Tar Removal: Numerical Modeling of Tar Conversion in a Partial Combustion Reactor

Modeling of biomass gasification in fluidized bed