Optimization of municipal solid waste air gasification for higher H2 production along with the validation via kinetics and statistical approaches

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate municipal solid waste (MSW) gasification to produce hydrogen (H2) at optimum levels. Therefore, the gasification of MSW was initially investigated using a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) coupled with mass spectrometer (MS). The leading gases detected by the MS included; H2, CO, CO2, and CH4. Afterward, the gasification was carried out in the tubular batch reactor to investigate the composition, gasification products, and syngas properties (H2/CO molar ratio, H2 + CO, lower heating value (LHV), H2 yield)) under some influencing parameters. Due to the dominating reaction temperature, a significant increase in H2 (25.41% to 39.70%) and gas (57.10–74.93%) production accompanied a notable decrease in tar (16.48–8.54%) and char (28.40–15.52 wt%) contents. Flynn-Wall-Ozawa (FWO) and central composite design (CCD) models were applied to investigate kinetic and statistical parameters which showed better results. Optimum H2 production of 45.79 mol% with H2/CO, H2 + CO, LHV, and yield of 1.78, 72.78 mol%, 9.96 MJ/Nm3, and 13.83 mol kg-MSW−1 respectively was obtained at optimal temperature, particle size, and heating rate of 703.49 ℃, 3.21 mm, and 5 ℃/min respectively, which can be an appropriate fuel for Fischer Tropsch process for manufacturing of transportation fuels.