Environmental degradation remains one of the key aspects of concern for society, as it creates a situation where the rate at which the environment is experiencing overall destruction (Arena, Ardolino, and Di Gregorio, 2015, p.70). Gasification is a process of having to convert organic or materials that can be considered as being fossil fuel-based carbonaceous into different gases including syngas and carbon dioxide. The gases that are produced through gasification can be used for multiple purposes including the production of electricity and heat. The most common waste materials used as part of the gasification process are coal, petroleum-based materials, and, in most cases, organic (solid) waste (Hadidi and Omer, 2017, p.97). The technology was adopted as part of a strategic process of having to minimize the impacts that waste is having on the environment, as this helps to convert the waste into gases that would be of greater benefit to society. The gasification process uses heat, pressure, and steam with the feedstock, which is the raw materials, being dried before being fed into the reactor chamber, otherwise known as the gasifier (Perna, A., Minutillo, M. and Jannelli, E., 2016, p.461). The next step in the gasification process is the subjecting of the feedstock to high levels of heat and pressure, which may either occur in an environment that is oxygen-rich or oxygen-starved. The gasifier seeks to ensure that none of the heat is wasted, which means that the gasification process occurs in a rather effective manner to help meet the expected outcome, which is to produce a wide array of gases. The occurrence of the gasification process results in the production of three main products, which are: Hydrocarbon gas (otherwise known as syngas), Hydrocarbon liquid (most common being oils), and Char (otherwise considered as carbon ash). Primarily, the amount of syngas produced from the gasification process can be considered as consisting of 85% (by volume) carbon monoxide and hydrogen (Sun, Nakano, Liu, Wang, and Zhang, 2015, p.11436). However, it also contains of small or minimal amounts of other gases that include carbon dioxide and methane. The key use of the syngas produced from the gasification process is to aid in the generation of electricity and steam. The main advantage associated with the use of syngas for purposes of generating electricity and steam production is that it helps towards minimizing some of the underlying impacts that other energy production processes are having on the environment (Karapidakis, Tsave, Soupios, & Katsigiannis, 2010, p.601). The overall use of the process allows for an easier process of having to maximize on energy production while ensuring that the environment is protected. From that perspective, it can be noted that the adoption of the gasification process is both economical and environmentally viable to implement in a given community. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) refers to everyday waste that is disposed of by the public. The waste may be in different forms including food and kitchen waste, green waste, paper, hazardous, and biomedical waste among other types of waste. Refuse-Derived Fuel (RDF) refers to a type of fuel that is produced from different types of waste, which include MSW, industrial, and commercial waste among others. A gasifier is defined as industrial equipment that helps in the conversion of waste materials into gas through exposure to high temperatures reaching up 700 0 C. The company, in question, is Energy Company Limited (ECL), which is a private entity that seeks to adopt the use of gasification as the main technology where a single gasifier would be able to gasify approximately 1.5 tonnes of pelletized RDF (Refuse derived fuel) for every hour. The company seeks to focus more on the generation of electricity and heat, which are the two main outputs that the company would be able to sell. The main concern that the company is having is that it must be able to maximize on energy generation, which would work towards advancing its maximized structure of performance. The maximization of this factor would serve towards building on a positive framework for it to advance its energy production process while, at the same, improve on the quality of energy produced. From a technical perspective, ECL would be in a rather positive position that would allow it to engage in the gasification process as part of its expectations. Gasification is a well-understood, as well as, proven technology, as it has been used on a worldwide basis for purposes of producing renewable energy (Leckner, 2015, p.20). In this case, ECL would be able to use solid waste from the community as feedstock, which means that the amount of syngas that it would produce would be significant to match the demand for energy in society. On the other hand, it must also be noted that the implementation of the gasification project would mean that ECL would need to find individuals with high skills in energy production. That would mean that ECL may find itself in need of having to focus more on finding persons that have the expertise of dealing with the gasification technology to achieve set out objectives. We should know the percentage of waste from MSW, it was obtained from the website to be 55.2% from the total waste. So, converting the waste to RDF will be as 250000 x 55.2%= 138000 tonnes/year.
Hence, for 9 per hour gasifier is 9 x 1.5 ( from the question ) = 13.5 tonnes of RDF/h.
For (9) gasifiers it will be is 13.5 x 8760 = 118260 tonnes of RDF/year.
RDF = 138000 tonnes/year.
For example, for 10 gasifiers when calculating the RDF is 10*1.5*8760= 131400 tonnes/year
and this amount cannot burn the total RDF of 138000 tonnes/year, so, changing the number of gasifiers to 11 gives 11*1.5*8760 144540 which can handle the total amount of RDF. The production of energy process will focus more on the exposure of the waste to the gasification process for the ultimate goal of having to produce syngas, which aids in the production of both electricity and heat (Doyle, Dehouche, & Stankovic, 2015, p.9018). The gasification approach allows for easier extraction of the energy within the solid waste, which would then be distributed to a wide array of sources to match the energy expectations. The amount of energy that ECL would be expected to produce per metric tonne input of waste is 1.9kw for every gasifier hour. That serves as a clear indication of the fact that indeed the company would be expected to work much of its attention towards maximizing on the energy production process to define its success in meeting the expected energy demands not only within the community but also in neighboring areas. The energy, produced through the gasification process, could be sold in various forms, which would depend on the overall expectation from the company with regard to its expected standards of enhanced delivery of adequate energy. The first approach that the company would use as part of its selling approach would be bulk selling. Bulk selling would involve a process of having to set the energy that it produces in bulk to the companies involved in supplying heat and electricity in the area. In this selling approach, ECL would be expected to engage in contractual agreements with the local companies involved in energy distribution, which would allow them to buy the energy that the company produces. The second approach that ECL may consider is retail selling, which would involve having to sell to the consumers directly. That would involve a process of placing wires that would have the capacity of carrying the huge amounts of electricity that the company anticipates producing. Additionally, this would also involve having to engage in piping to help carry the steam that is involved in the heating process. In overall, the company would be expected to undertake a cost analysis of both selling approaches to determine which of the two approaches is likely to have a greater profit margin. The cost analysis will also seek to evaluate how the company would be able to cushion itself from losses in the event that it does not meet its targets in terms of energy production capacities. Cost analysis is one of the key areas that the company would need to consider significantly as one of the strategic factors that would define some of the approaches that the company would be expected to take up. Some of the fixed costs that ECL would need to consider include costs of energy, costs of buying the nine gasifiers, and licenses that the company may need to undertake its activities. The company may need to consider the expectations that its consumers may have with regard to the expected cost of the energy that they produce, as this must be significantly lower than the current costs of energy. Ramos, Monteiro, Silva, and Rouboa 2018, p.387) argue that gasification plays a critical role in reducing the costs associated with energy production significantly, which allows for an easier shift towards this type of energy production process.
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Transportation of Waste
Regarding the transportation of waste that would be used as part of the gasification process, one of the key aspects to note is that ECL would need to focus on finding a site that is very close to the area in which all waste is dumped. An example can be finding a site near a landfill, which would mean that the company would be able to minimize the costs associated with the transportation of the waste to the gasifiers. However, ECL would need to focus on buying machinery and equipment that allows for easier transportation within short distances or focus on the development of a conveyor belt. The belt will allow for easier movement of the waste, as well as, advance the overall process of sorting the waste depending on the different types of waste that it would be expected to deal with.
Carbon Dioxide Emissions
Gasification plays a critical role in minimizing the strain that energy production is having on the environment but alleviating some of the underlying concerns that can be noted as part of the energy production approach (Pham, Kaushik, Parshetti, Mahmood, and Balasubramanian, 2015, p.406). One of the key advantages that would be expected with regard to ECL’s approach towards the adoption of gasification as a key energy production process is that it would reduce CO 2 emissions significantly. From the calculations, focusing on the feedstock that the company is expected to use, as well as, the parasitic load of 15%, the expected CO 2 emissions would be approximately 48.6%. That means that the company would be able to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide moving into the environment by 48.6% for every metric tonne of waste that it gasifies.
Energy Consumption
Regarding the aspect of energy consumption, it can be noted that ECL would be expected to consume approximately 7.8kw per metric tonne input. That means that for a single gasifier, which is able to gasify 1.5 tonnes per hour, the energy consumption would be 11.7kw per hour. Within a 24-hour period, the amount of energy that the company would consume is 280.8kw, as the gasification process is a 24 process that does not stop. ECL intends to use 9 gasifiers for the process, which means that it would consume 2,527.2kw per hour for the tonnage that it would be able to gasify within a single day. The amount of energy that the company is expected to use would increase further depending on the increase in the tonnage for the waste that the company intends to gasify.
What I understood is that the waste management site is using grid electricity and its 7.8 MWh / metric tonne input, the result of the segregation process and removal of recyclables is the RDF, which is maybe 60-70 % of the 250,000-tonne input. To determine the total electricity that the waste management site is consuming yearly = 7.8 * 250,000 = 1950 GWh/ year .
Conclusion
Gasification is a process of having to convert organic or materials that can be considered as being fossil fuel-based carbonaceous into different gases including syngas and carbon dioxide. The overall use of the process allows for an easier process of having to maximize on energy production while ensuring that the environment is protected. The company, in question, is Energy Company Limited (ECL), which is a private entity that seeks to adopt the use of gasification as the main technology where a single gasifier would be able to gasify approximately 1.5 tonnes of pelletized RDF (Refuse derived fuel) for every hour. ECL would be able to use the solid waste from the community as feedstock, which means that the amount of syngas that it would produce would be significant to match the demand for energy in society. The amount of energy that ECL would be expected to produce per metric tonne input of waste is 1.9kw for every gasifier hour. From the calculations, focusing on the feedstock that the company is expected to use, as well as, the parasitic load of 15%, the expected CO2 emissions would be approximately 48.6%.
References
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