Using Gasification to Process Municipal Solid Waste

By Joseph W. Schilli
Volume 12, Number 4 Winter 2004 A Publication of the Environmental and Resource Management Group of HDR
T
he United States leads the world in
generating municipal solid waste
(MSW) with a per capita average of
about 4.6 pounds per day. Consequently,
determining what to do with all of that garbage
grows ever more important. The country is
making strides first by setting the pace in
recycling and also by being a leader in
converting waste to energy through specialized
combustion processes. Now, there is
movement to adapt an industrial technology
called gasification to serve as yet another
option in solid waste management.
Put simply, MSW is the garbage produced by
residential households, commercial
businesses, industrial operations such as
factories and institutional facilities like schools
and hospitals. With annual MSW production
topping 229 million tons, gasification can ease
the burden on landfills by processing solid
waste and at the same time serve as a valuable
fuel resource through the production of power
and other commercial materials.
Gasification Explained
The basic chemical processes behind
gasification have been known for years. In
fact, facilities that used gasification to produce
oil from coal date back to the early 1900s.
Gasification can be generally defined as a
process for the production of gaseous or liquid
fuels from organic material within the feedstock. Dependent on the
feedstock, materials such as metals may also be recovered.
There are two fundamental stages in the gasification process:
Organics in the feedstock are broken down into compounds
consisting largely of carbon and hydrogen.
These compounds then undergo reactions to
form a liquid or gas with a significant energy content.
There have been significant research and development efforts
related to processing solid waste with gasification and related
technologies since the 1970s. For example, pyrolysis, a technology
similar to gasification, attained commercial operation in a facility in
Baltimore during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Unfortunately, the
facility experienced persistent technical problems and eventually
had to cease the pyrolysis operation.
Today, close to 100 firms claim to have an operational gasification
technology and/or a research and development effort related to
gasification.
Finding Alternatives for Solid Waste Management
The processing of MSWin general has changed substantially during
the past two decades. Vast numbers of small, poorly controlled
landfills are being replaced with fewer but larger and highly
engineered facilities.
But just as important as improving the efficiency of landfills is
reducing the amount of materials going into them. It begins with
source reduction a strategy of modifying how products are made
and used in a way that reduces the volume and toxicity of waste.
Recycling also is a crucial component of solid waste management
and has more than doubled since 1990. Today, the U.S. diverts about
30 percent of MSW away from landfills with those raw materials
being converted back into usable products.
Another 15 percent of the countrys MSW now goes through
thermal processing before entering the landfill. But combustion
facilities have met with stricter operating standards intended to
lessen the impact on air quality and control disposal of ash
byproduct. Some facilities were closed but others implemented
Levels of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide and dioxin present in air
emissions from the Thermoselect process all fall well within U.S. standards.
cleaner processes and continue to operate
today. Thermal processing remains a
functional piece of the MSW puzzle today
because of its ability to reduce feedstock by
an average of 90 percent in volume and 75
percent in weight and because the heat
generated can be used to convert water into
steam and thereby produce energy.
Gasification is the next evolution in the thermal
processing of MSW. This process further
reduces the amount of solid waste and
produces off-gases that can be used to generate
energy or feedstock for a manufacturing
operation. But to work properly, gasification
requires strict air and oxygen control. Pyrolysis
failed primarily because MSWtends to have a
fluffy consistency that entraps indeterminate
quantities of air, making it difficult to control
oxygen levels.
But a breakout technology in gasification
called Thermoselect addresses the issue of
air and oxygen control by using a horizontal
ram system to compact MSWto a density of
approximately 2,100 pounds per cubic yard,
thus regulating the amount of air trapped
within the feedstock that enters the
degasification chamber. It also uses a
metered injection of pure oxygen that mixes
with gases from the degasification chamber
in a high-temperature (2,200 degrees
Fahrenheit) reaction chamber. This creates a
byproduct called Syngas, which, on a dry
basis, contains 25 to 42 percent carbon
monoxide, 25 to 42 percent hydrogen, 10 to
25 percent carbon dioxide and 3 to 4 percent
nitrogen and other constituents.
Generation of harmful gases such as dioxin
compounds is inhibited by the pressure,
temperature and reducing conditions of the
degasification chamber and the high
temperature reaction chamber. Furthermore,
the process has been developed to control
metal and inorganic pollutants as usable
byproducts rather than off-gas pollutants.
For example, sulfur compounds are reduced
to produce elemental sulfur, which can be
recycled as a marketable byproduct. As a
result, it never enters the off-gas stream in
significant concentrations.
Additionally, the Thermoselect technology
was developed to produce molten byproducts
rather than ash. The molten byproducts are
rapidly cooled in a water quench, which
causes the formation of metal and silica-
based granules. The granules are formed
separately due to their different physical
properties. These granules, having different
densities, are separated into distinct streams
by a density media separation process.
Concentrated metal alloy granules might be
further refined into separate metals, and
mineral granules can be used as substitutes
for sand or gravel.
Water Requirements and Environmental
Impact
The gasification process described above
has three primary water requirements: the
shock cooling vessel; the quenching process;
and either cooling tower makeup if the
Syngas is being used to generate electricity;
or feedwater if it is being used to create
process steam.
The Syngas generated during the gasification
process has a BTU content of between 225
and 250 BTUs per cubic foot, making it
useful in applications similar to those of
natural gas. For example, existing
Thermoselect facilities currently use Syngas
to:
Power an internal combustion engine for
an electric generator
Provide fuel for a steel manufacturing
process
Generate steam for a downtown heating
system
Research underway now could eventually
lead to more uses for Syngas, including:
Feedstock for producing pure hydrogen
Fuel for fuel cells
Feedstock for producing methanol and
ammonia
While gasification facilities offer clear
environmental benefits, there are some
environmental concerns presented by
gasification facilities, such as wastewater
and the solid byproducts that remain after all
usable materials have been recovered. Air
quality has not been a concern as the
Thermoselect facilities currently in operation
have produced significantly less harmful air
emissions than what is allowed by U.S.
regulatory standards and less than traditional
combustion technologies. Wastewater is
treated by a system contained within the
gasification facility that incorporates
buffering, precipitation and reverse osmosis.
The treated water then is recycled into
process water that can be reused in the
facility. Any additional treatment is dictated
by the potential end use.
As for the solid byproducts, much of it can
be recycled. Markets are available for the
metal and mineral pellets as well as the sulfur
but have not been identified yet for the salts
and metal hydroxides.
Future of Gasification
Gasification technologies, like Thermoselect's
have been evolving. Private firms and
municipal governments appear committed to
establishing improved gasification technology
as a viable solid waste management alternative.
The attractiveness of this option likely will
increase given its environmental record and
its ability to produce hydrogen-based energy.
There are facilities operating in Europe and
Asia with more planned. There also are a
number of municipalities in North America
actively assessing gasification as a solid
waste processing tool, including Toronto,
Los Angeles and municipalities in northeast
Puerto Rico.
Several factors must be considered to
determine the net cost of a Thermoselect
gasification system. For example, what
revenues might be attained by selling
energy? In the end, this new process can be
a cost-competitive solution for solid waste
disposal when compared with more traditional
alternatives like landfills. This is particularly
true in areas where landfills are not in close
proximity to where the solid waste is being
produced, and where the cost of electricity is
high.
In the end, these economic factors may also
be mitigated by communities looking for a
more environmentally sound waste reduction
alternative and a reliable local energy source.
Joseph W. Schilli can be reached at HDRs Miami
Lakes, Fla., office at (305) 728-7400 or e-mail
joe.schilli@hdrinc.com.
A facility with Thermoselect gasification technology in
Mutsu, Japan, has an internal combustion engine/
generator set to convert Syngas into electrical power.