Production of useful energy from solid waste materials by steam gasification

Abstract

A steam gasification processes is an energy conversion pathway through which organic materials are converted to useful energy. In spite of the high energy content in organic waste materials, they have been mostly disposed of in landfills, which causes harmful environmental issues such as methane emissions and ground water pollution and contaminations. In this sense, organic solid waste materials are regarded as alternative resources for conversion to useful energy in the steam gasification process. In this study, three types of waste materials – municipal solid waste (MSW), used tires and sewage sludge – were used to generate syngas through the gasification process in a 1000 °C steam atmosphere. The syngas generation rates and its chemical compositions were measured and evaluated over time to determine the characteristics and dynamics of the gasification process. Also, carbon conversion, and mass and energy balances are presented which demonstrates the feasibility of steam gasification as a waste conversion pathway. The results show that the syngas contains high concentrations of H2, around 41–55% by volume. The syngas generation rate was found to depend on the carbon content in the feedstock regardless of the types of input materials. Comparing to the hydrogen production from water splitting that requires extremely high temperatures at around 1500 °C, hydrogen production by steam gasification of organic materials can be regarded as equally effective but requires lower system temperatures. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.