Abstract
Abstract In this work, the gasification of a fraction of municipal solid waste, MSW, generally separated from inorganic materials and biodegradable components, the so-called refuse-derived fuel (RDF), was studied using material characterisation methods, and the modelling of an industrial scale process was presented. The composition of RDF was determined by the separation of a representative sample into its basic components (paper, foils, hard plastics, textiles). All RDF components as well as a representative mixed sample of the RDF were studied using a thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), elemental analysis and bomb calorimetry to determine their proximate and elemental compositions, and a higher heating value. An industrial scale gasification process was studied by mathematical modelling and computer simulations. All techniques, gasification with air, gasification with oxygen, and gasification with both oxygen and steam were investigated under different conditions. The RDF conversion of 100 % was achieved by the gasification with air at the air to RDF mass ratio of 3.2. The gas heating value was 4.4 MJ/Nm3. The gasification of RDF using oxygen enables the production of gas with the heating value of around 10 MJ/Nm3 at the oxygen to RDF mass ratio of 0.65. By increasing the steam to the RDF mass ratio, the contents of H2 and CO2 increased, while the content of CO, reactor temperature and the gas heating value decreased.
Highlights
Many countries, including Slovakia, still landfill the majority of their municipal solid waste (MSW)
The variable was the mass ratio of the gasification agent and the observed output parameters were: conversion of refuse-derived fuel (RDF), reactor temperature, gas composition, and gas higher heating value (HHV)
A - Gasification of RDF using air: Figure1 shows the composition of produced gases at different air to RDF mass ratio
Summary
Many countries, including Slovakia, still landfill the majority of their municipal solid waste (MSW) Such landfilling results in significant environmental challenges, and in wasting valuable resources. It results from their work that except for H2 the predicted composition of gas is in good coherence with the experimental data. Li et al [6] applied an equilibrium model for coal gasification and declared that this model has some limitations in predicting gas composition. The equilibrium model was combined with some empirical correlations based on laboratory experiments to predict the carbon conversion, reactor temperature, gas composition, gas heating value and the gas tar content under different types and amounts of gasification agents. The input data for the model was determined by the characterisation of single components of RDF such as paper, polyethylene foils, hard plastics and textiles
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