Performance assessment of a novel medical-waste-to-energy design based on plasma gasification and integrated with a municipal solid waste incineration plant

Abstract

A novel medical-waste-to-energy design combining plasma gasification (treating medical waste) and municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration has been developed. In the integrated system, the syngas generated by the plasma gasification of medical waste is first burned and drives the gas turbine for power generation, subsequently, the gas turbine exhaust is taken to heat the live steam and feedwater of the MSW incineration plant, improving the power cycle of the incineration plant. Consequently, medical waste can be converted into electricity efficiently in the meantime of harmless management. The hybrid design was investigated by multiple approaches including energy analysis, exergy analysis, and economic analysis. It is found that the energy efficiency and exergy efficiency of medical-waste-to-electricity can reach up to 37.83% and 34.91% with a net total power of 4.24 MW yielded from medical waste, while the net power generated from MSW is considered fixed. Besides, the proposed medical-waste-to-electricity project has a short dynamic payback period of 3.75 years and the relative net present value can achieve 45,239.90 k$. These results demonstrate that the novel concept is efficient, feasible, and advantageous, which is promising to be implemented in the field of waste-to-energy.