A techno-economic evaluation of a small-scale fluidized bed gasifier for solid recovered fuel

• SRF fluidized bed gasifier is integrated in a combination of processes and technologies
• Technical analysis of the case study is based on data provided by a pilot-scale gasifier
• Heat gasifier configuration includes a mild combustor and an ORC generator
• Plant economic sustainability is obtained only in presence of an incentive tariff
• Reduction of landfill volume utilization is of about 85%

This paper reports a technical assessment for an air gasification plant for energy recovery from 5000 t/y of a solid recovered fuel (SRF). This was obtained as one of the output streams from a sorting platform of municipal solid waste, which aims to minimize the utilization of the annexed landfill. The case study analysis was based on data provided by a pilot-scale bubbling fluidized bed gasifier, having a feedstock capacity of about 70 kg/h of the obtained SRF. The tests indicate that the SRF can be converted into a syngas of valuable quality for energy applications. A plant configuration, which includes a bubbling fluidized bed reactor, a mild combustor, a 400 kWe Organic Rankine Cycle generator and an air pollution control system, was defined and described in detail. The standard accounting items related to investment and operating costs were estimated on the basis of official manufacturer's specifications and information: they indicate an economic sustainability only in presence of an incentive tariff for energy production. A material flow analysis indicates that the implementation of the small-scale gasifier could allow a landfill volume saving of more than 10,000 m3/y.