Striclty for educational purposes

Final project in M.Sc. Course for teachers, in •

the framework of the Caesarea –Rothschild
program of the Feinberg Grad School of the
.Weizmann inst. of Science
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 Waste to Energy
via Syngas (synthetic gas) production
and Fischer –Tropsch biodiesel

Ben Osher

? How much diesel can be produced from solid waste in Israel

?Why Use Waste
• As the amount of fossil fuels available
decreases and the cost of petroleum-based
fuels increases, there is a need for
alternative fuel sources.
• A promising process for green-fuel and
electricity production involves the formation
of SYNGAS which can be converted to useful
fuel and other organic materials.
 ?What is syngas
Abbreviation of “synthetic gas”.
It can be the end product of thermally processed biomass

the main compounds in syngas are:

* Carbon monoxide : CO
* Hydrogen: H2

Other by-products:
* Carbon dioxide: CO2
* Methane: CH4
?What can be done with syngas

Gasification Fischer-Tropsch GREEN

waste Syngas
DIESEL
Waste treatment: OLD vs. reNEWable
:Dealing with waste - Questions to be asked
• How much waste is there to be treated?

• What type of waste is to be treated?

For example does it contain just MSW or does it include commercial waste, sewage sludge , tyres etc.?

• What are the characteristics of the waste in terms of chemical composition, caloric value, particle
size, moisture etc.?
Municipal Solid Waste
MSW
BIOGENIC NON-BIOGENIC

such as food waste such as plastics and metals

and yard clippings

http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=8010
Municipal Solid Waste
With time the biogenic portion of municipal solid waste decreases;
Because non-biogenic waste has a higher heat content than biogenic material
the average heat content of MSW (per unit mass) as a whole is increasing,
making it a more efficient fuel for producing electricity.

http://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/monthly/pdf/historical/msw.pdf
Israel: waste facts
• 4.9 million ton of MSW is produced each year.
• Average waste/person/day 1.9 (3-5% growth)
• ~20% of MSW is recycled => ~ 1.5 kg/day/person to landfills
• Total fuel consumption for private transportation is 5.35  109 l
year

http://www.sviva.gov.il/subjectsEnv/Waste/Policy/Documents/waste_management.pdf
Thermal waste treatment

rapid oxidation of a Breakdown of

Thermal degradation
feedstock as it hydrocarbons into
of waste in the
. is exposed air syngas by controlling
absence of air to
heat in a boiler the amount of
produce char, oil,
where steam, under oxygen during
.and syngas
high pressure, is burning.
e.g. wood to
passed through a
charcoal
turbine which ~ 14000 C
powers a generator 3000 C  6000 C 7000 KPa
Gasification: Main chemical reactions
Within a gasification process the major chemical reactions are those involving
:carbon, CO, CO2, water (steam) and methane, as follows

First step: steam

kJ Endothermic reactions
CH 4  H 2O  CO  3H 2 H  205.9
mol Methane needed comes from
kJ
C  H 2O  CO  H 2 H  122.6 C  2 H 2  CH 4
mol

/ Second step: oair

2
kJ Exothermic reactions
CO  O2  CO2 H  401.9
mol
1 kJ
H  O2  H 2O H  241.1
2 mol

Third step:CO formation

kJ
C  CO2  2CO H  164.9
mol
Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis
The process involves a series of chemical reactions
that produce a variety of saturated hydrocarbons
Professor Franz Fischer (left)
It uses Iron- or Cobalt-based catalysts and Dr Hans Tropsch

 CH 2    H 2O
CO  2 H 2 catalyst
H2
2
CO
When the H2/CO ratio in the feed gas is lower, it can be adjusted with the
:water gas shift reaction to use the component in excess to yield the missing one

CO  H 2O  CO2  H 2
:FT Chemical mechanism
Overall process: waste in - no waste out
 Overall process: Hypothetical energy recovery
MSW conversion and synthesis to F-T products with heat recovery
.can make beneficial and commercial use of 71%
:Calculations
kWh Diesel energy density
11 ;
l
MWh Av. energy value of MSW
~5
t
MWh MWh l Amount of diesel
0.71 5 /{0.011 }  323
t l t
t
~ 1106 Part of MSW for thermal treatment
year in Israel

6 t l 8 l
110  323  3.23 10 Amount of diesel produced
year t year
:Conclusions
FT diesel assumed to be 7.19 $/bbl (~0.16 ‫)שקל לליטר‬
more expensive than transportation fuels derived from
crude oil. Choi & al, 2011

MWh
A ton of MSW with average energy content of ~5 t
.can yield up to: 323 liters of ultra clean Diesel fuel

!F-T fuels can replace 6% of total fuel consumption in Israel

Advantages ( if goals are achieved)

• Reduction of municipal and industrial waste disposal.

• Reduction of CO2 emissions from incineration.
• Use of renewable low cost feedstocks
• Converting waste into ultra clean-diesel.
• Use of sustainable methods to convert waste into useful
products
By treating our wastes we do not only do
good for the environment but also good
.business for the local- and global economy