Optimizing refuse-derived fuel production from scheduled wastes through Aspen plus simulation

Zubir MA 1 , Kamyab H 2 , Vasseghian Y 3 , Hashim H 4 , Zhi OM 5 , Abdullah SR 5 Show all authors , Yusuf M 6 , Kapran B 5 , Kori AH 5 , Nasri NS 5 , Hoang HY 7

Affiliations 

  • 1 Process Systems Engineering Centre (PROSPECT), Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia
  • 2 Process Systems Engineering Centre (PROSPECT), Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia; Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, UTE University, Calle Rumipamba S/N and Bourgeois, Quito, Ecuador; Department of Biomaterials, Saveetha Dental College and Hospital, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Chennai, 600 077, India. Electronic address: khesam2@live.utm.my
  • 3 Department of Chemistry, Soongsil University, Seoul, 06978, South Korea; School of Engineering, Lebanese American University, Byblos, Lebanon; University Centre for Research & Development, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Chandigarh University, Gharuan, Mohali, Punjab, 140413, India
  • 4 Process Systems Engineering Centre (PROSPECT), Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia. Electronic address: haslenda@utm.my
  • 5 Sage Promaster Sdn. Bhd., E-05-13, Plaza Mont Kiara, 2 Jalan Kiara, Mont Kiara, 50480, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 6 Clean Energy Technologies Research Institute (CETRI), Process Systems Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Regina, 3737 Wascana Parkway, Regina, SK, S4S 0A2, Canada; Centre of Research Impact and Outcome, Chitkara University Institute of Engineering and Technology, Chitkara University, Punjab, India
  • 7 Center for Advanced Chemistry, Institute of Research and Development, Duy Tan University, 03 Quang Trung, Danang 550000, Viet Nam; Faculty of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Duy Tan University, 03 Quang Trung, Danang 550000, Viet Nam
Environ Res, 2024 Mar 11;251(Pt 2):118617.
PMID: 38467362 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.118617

Abstract

This study aims to improve the quality of fuel with high calorific value namely Sfuel - a commercial high-quality refuse-derived fuel (RDF) from hazardous waste via modifying the process design and operating parameters of thermal conversion process. The study analyses key parameters of RDF quality, such as calorific value and heavy metal content, before and after process modifications based on the combination of experimental and simulation using Aspen Plus. In this study, the temperature and pressure of the simulation system are varied from 100 to 700 °C and from 1 to 5 bar, respectively. Findings indicate that there are a total of eleven heavy metals and 179 volatile compounds in the "Sfuels". The quality of the targeted product is greatly improved by the metal evaporation at high temperatures and pressures. However, the calorific value of RDF significantly decreases at 700 °C due to a large amount of the carbon content being evaporated. Although the carbon content at high temperatures is significantly lost, the heat from the vapour stream reactor outlet, which is reused to preheat the nitrogen gas stream supplied to the system, reduces energy consumption while improving the thermal conversion efficiency of the system. Besides, low pressure along with high temperature are not the optimal conditions for quality Sfuels improvement by thermal conversion. Results also indicate that electric heating is more economically efficient than natural gas heating.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Similar publications