Using key-component techniques for production of different products from wastes

Abstract

Technological methodologies which reduce greenhouse gas emissions, waste and employ renewable resources must be used for sustainable economic development and a cleaner environment. Flue gas and municipal solid wastes can be used as sustainable raw materials, thus minimizing waste, emissions, and fossil fuel consumption. This paper aims to develop a key-component technique to use waste for raw materials in different plants. This technique is limited to operating with existing units. Using waste as raw materials allows the efficient production of multiple sustainable products.Existing processes operating with well-known technology can be adapted to use waste raw materials by using the key-component technique, which is based on the production of multiple products from wastes. The proposed technique is based on raw material circulation between plants and could provide improvements on three levels:•production of basic (methanol) products from waste•further product (formaldehyde) manufacturing from basic products and non-reacted components (N2, H2, CO, CO2) after separation, using pressure swing adsorption (PSA), for production of ammonia, urea and glycolic acid.•production of urea formaldehyde resin and hexamine from second level products.This study involves environmental protection topic related to the utilization of waste materials to generate multiple sustainable products. Methanol plants can replace natural gas with flue gas and municipal solid wastes. Different products including formaldehyde, ammonia, urea, glycolic acid, urea formaldehyde resin and hexamine can be manufactured during the synthesis of gas for methanol production and from by-product surplus. Reuse of these wastes could generate an additional profit at least of 19.8 MEUR/a.