Abstract
Due to their fast start-up, diesel-fired gas turbine (GT) backup units are commonly used in Kuwait to satisfy increasing local power demand in utility-scale cogeneration power and water desalination plants (CPDP). This study investigates the use of syngas generated from biomass high-temperature steam gasification (HTSG) systems as fuel for the GT backup units instead of the diesel-fired units. The objective of hybridizing CPDPs with HTSG systems is to minimize fossil fuel dependence and simultaneously reduce waste discarded in landfills. The coupling of the carbon–neutral system retrofits existing power and water cogeneration plants to sustainable Energy-Water-Waste (EW2) systems. Synergies of hybridizing biomass HTSG systems with conventional CPDPs are presented and discussed in this study.A thermodynamic analysis is performed on the hybrid plant for the simultaneous generation of power and water by cofiring municipal solid waste (MSW), plastic, and used rubber tires with conventional fossil fuels. Depending on the gasifier’s feedstock and at the optimal steam-to-biomass ratio (STBR) and steam temperature, peak power capacity enhancement is calculated to be in the range of 3.40% to 4.52% when integrating a 100 MW syngas-fired GT unit with the CPDP. The results of the energy analysis show that the hybrid plant’s utilization factor ranges from 70.0% to 74.4%. The largest increase (2.52%) in the plant’s power and water gain ratio (PWGR) is achieved when rubber is gasified with 800 °C steam and an STBR of 3.82. Even though the cogeneration plant’s in-house water consumption rate increases in the range of 10.8 to 55.0% because of the HTSG coupling, the maximum plant’s net desalinated water export rate decreases by a maximum of 0.233% only at the optimum operating parameters. Approximately 1.69 million kgs of waste landfilling can potentially be avoided daily from such coupling representing 25.5% of Kuwait’s total MSW production per day.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
