Thermodynamic evaluation of the gasification of municipal solid waste

The dependency on energy use is unavoidable in modern civilization. The burning of fossil fuels for energy use is regarded as one of the human activities that has a harmful environmental impact. Waste to energy is slowly becoming an evident argument that energy can be obtained from waste at a level that is enough to meet energy demands. Waste is viewed as a renewable source of energy and can lower emissions from the greenhouse gas (GHG) and mitigate climate change. The exploitation of municipal solid waste (MSW) can be implemented using various routes, either through thermal or biological conversion. The thermal conversion can be achieved through combustion, gasification, or pyrolysis. This study aimed to evaluate the gasification of municipal solid waste. The investigation focused on the effects the selected operating parameters have on the syngas composition, H2/CO ratio, and calorific value. The selection of the modelling approach focused on the problem statement. It was necessary to use a model that did not have a lot of limitations or relied on the geometry of the gasifier. A mathematical model that could analyse the selected operating parameters of the gasification process was utilized. A step-by-step procedure of the thermodynamic equilibrium model was implemented using MATLAB. The model was validated by comparing the predicted results of this study and empirical data in published literature. The results showed that operating parameters affected the amount of syngas quality, calorific value, and H2/CO ratio. The amount of carbon monoxide and nitrogen reduced with an increase in moisture content, and the amount of carbon dioxide increased with increased moisture content. A small amount of methane was recorded, with increased moisture content. Enhanced temperature brought about increased hydrogen while the amount of nitrogen remained constant. With high temperature, carbon dioxide composition reduced, and just over 1% of methane was recorded. The increased (ER) from 0.2 to 0.6 showed that ER has a notable impact on nitrogen. A sharp increase in nitrogen was noted when the ER increased while the amount of hydrogen and carbon monoxide decreased. Results showed acceptable agreement between the modelled data from this investigation and the experimental values reported in the literature. The overall conclusion is that the thermodynamic model gives accurate prediction results of the gasification process. Additionally, when the investigated operating parameters were adjusted, syngas composition, H2/CO ratio and calorific value were all affected (they either increased or reduced). Furthermore, it is concluded that the ER ratio is the most influential parameter in the gasification process