From waste to electricity through integrated plasma gasification/fuel cell (IPGFC) system

• Published in: International journal of hydrogen energy 2011, Vol.36 (2), p.1692-1701
• Main Authors: Galeno, G., Minutillo, M., Perna, A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alternative fuels. Production and utilization; Applied sciences; Electric power generation; Energy; Exact sciences and technology; Fuel cells; Fuels; Gasification; Hydrogen; Integrated energy system; Mathematical models; Plasma gasification; RDF; Solid oxide fuel cell; Solid oxide fuel cells; Stacks; Waste management; Waste-to-energy; Wastes
• ISSN: 0360-3199; 1879-3487
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2010.11.008

The waste management is become a very crucial issue in many countries, due to the ever- increasing amount of waste material, both domiciliary and industrial, generated. The main strategies for the waste management are the increase of material recovery (MR), which can reduce the landfill disposal, the improvement of energy recovery (ER) from waste and the minimization of the environmental impact. These two last objectives can be achieved by introducing a novel technology for waste treatment based on a plasma torch gasification system integrated with a high efficiency energy conversion system, such as combined cycle power plant or high-temperature fuel cells. This work aims to evaluate the performance of an Integrated Plasma Gasification/Fuel Cell system (IPGFC) in order to establish its energy suitability and environmental feature. The performance analysis of this system has been carried out by using a numerical model properly defined and implemented in Aspen Plus™ code environment. The model is based on the combination of a thermochemical model of the plasma gasification unit, previously developed by the authors (the so-called EquiPlasmaJet model), and an electrochemical model for the SOFC fuel cell stack simulation. The EPJ model has been employed to predict the syngas composition and the energy balance of an RDF (Refuse Derived Fuel) plasma arc gasifier (that uses air as plasma gas), whereas the SOFC electrochemical model, that is a system-level model, has allowed to forecast the stack performance in terms of electrical power and efficiency. Results point out that the IPGFC system is able to produce a net power of 4.2 MW per kg of RDF with an electric efficiency of about 33%. This efficiency is high in comparison with those reached by conventional technologies based on RDF incineration (20%).