Conceptual Process Design, Energy and Economic Analysis of Solid Waste to Hydrocarbon Fuels via Thermochemical Processes

Abstract

Thermochemical processes use heat and series of endothermic chemical reactions that achieve thermal cracking and convert a wide range of solid waste deposits via four thermochemical processes to hydrocarbon gaseous and liquid products such as syngas, gasoline, and diesel. The four thermochemical reactions investigated in this research article are: incineration, pyrolysis, gasification, and integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC). The mentioned thermochemical processes are evaluated for energy recovery pathways and environmental footprint based on conceptual design and Aspen HYSYS energy simulation. This paper also provides conceptual process design for four thermochemical processes as well as process evaluation and techno-economic analysis (TEA) including energy consumption, process optimization, product yield calculations, electricity generation and expected net revenue per tonne of feedstock. The techno-economic analysis provides results for large scale thermochemical process technologies at an industrial level and key performance indicators (KPIs) including greenhouse gaseous emissions, capital and operational costs per tonne, electrical generation per tonne for the four mentioned thermochemical processes.