Waste Gasification Technologies: A Brief Overview

Santa Margarida Santos, Ana Carolina Assis, Leandro Gomes, Catarina Nobre and Paulo Brito ()
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Santa Margarida Santos: VALORIZA, Research Center for Endogenous Resource Valorization, Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre, 7300-555 Portalegre, Portugal
Ana Carolina Assis: VALORIZA, Research Center for Endogenous Resource Valorization, Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre, 7300-555 Portalegre, Portugal
Leandro Gomes: MEtRICs, Chemistry Department, NOVA School of Science and Technology (FCT NOVA), Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Campus Caparica, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
Catarina Nobre: VALORIZA, Research Center for Endogenous Resource Valorization, Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre, 7300-555 Portalegre, Portugal
Paulo Brito: VALORIZA, Research Center for Endogenous Resource Valorization, Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre, 7300-555 Portalegre, Portugal

Waste, 2022, vol. 1, issue 1, 1-26

Abstract: This paper aims to briefly overview gasification technologies of biomass and heterogeneous wastes as a means for syngas production. For this purpose, an overview of the existing technologies, their main advantages, limitations, and costs, as well as commercial plants and projects (lower TRL) operating with these technologies and syngas applications is presented. The type of technology and operating parameters should be selected considering the quality of the syngas as it will dictate its end use. Syngas quality is determined by the combination of feedstock properties, type of technology and process operating conditions, and the scale of operation. For smaller projects with a capacity of up to 10 MWth, fixed-bed technologies have been a recurring choice, while fluidized bed reactors can have an installed capacity above 100 MWth and are, therefore, more suitable for medium- and large-scale projects. Fluidized bed gasification technology supports feedstock flexibility, has scale-up potential, and presents relatively low cost, making it a suitable solution and a frequent choice for heterogeneous waste gasification in medium- or large-scale projects. Commercializing waste gasification technology is already a reality. However, more efforts need to be made so that pilot and demonstration projects can overcome the technological and economic problems and move towards commercialization.

Keywords: gasifiers; thermochemical conversion; waste; waste-to-energy; syngas (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q16 Q18 Q2 Q20 Q23 Q24 Q25 Q28 Q3 Q31 Q38 Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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