Hydrogen production from municipal solid waste: Potential prediction and environmental impact analysis

Abstract

Using municipal solid waste (MSW) as the source of hydrogen production is helpful to the clean development of hydrogen energy and the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This study investigates the possibility of manufacturing hydrogen from MSW and its potential environmental impacts. According to forecasts, Hubei Province's annual MSW output will be able to create around 350,100 tons of hydrogen by 2035 using anaerobic digestion and biogas reforming technology. Owing to the environmental analysis findings, hydrogen generation from MSW has a greater ecological efficiency than landfill and incineration, reaching 95.96%. Hydrogen production from biogas can reduce GHG emissions more than biogas as fuel or biogas-to-electricity, and it is anticipated to save 1.58 million tons of coal consumption annually by 2035, resulting in a reduction of GHG emissions of 4703.24KtCO2eq. It is essential to develop hydrogen production from MSW from an energy (fuel saving) and environmental (reducing GHG emissions) perspective.