Gasification characteristics of refuse derived fuels in a fluidized bed: Effect of process parameters and catalytic reforming

Abstract

Managing municipal solid waste and providing sustainable energy are major challenges faced globally. Although the gasification of solid waste into syngas is a viable solution, the presence of high tar content and low quality syngas hinder technological advancements. In this study, the gasification of refuse derived fuels was performed on a fluidized bed and the impact of temperature, oxygen concentration (OP), steam/RDF ratio (S/R), equivalence ratio (ER), and catalytic reforming on the quality of syngas was investigated. The results indicate that the optimal gasification efficiency and the highest lower heat value of syngas occur at 850 °C. The gasification process is most efficient when the ER = 0.23. Gasification with enriched oxygen significantly improves the syngas quality. OP increased from 21 % to 40 %, syngas lower heat value increased by 112 %, and H2 increased by 76.4 %. The addition of water vapor under oxygen enriched conditions (OP = 40 %) promotes the generation of hydrogen-rich syngas. At an S/R of 0.73, the H2 reached a notable 21.3 %. Finally, the reformation of syngas is catalyzed using a Ni-based catalyst co-modified with Ce and La. The findings showed that the H2 increased by 3.27 % following catalytic reforming. Additionally, the syngas yield increased by 13 %, and the tar removal rate of 91.5 %. This study's findings apply to optimizing the fluidized bed gasification of refuse derived fuels.