Influence of Plastic Waste for Refuse-Derived Fuel on Downdraft Gasification

The potential of syngas production from used- and unused-plastic-waste Refuse-Derived Fuels (RDFs) by downdraft type fixed bed gasification technology is investigated. The purpose of this study is to investigate the syngas compositions of used- and unused-plastic-waste RDFs in the downdraft type fixed bed gasification system. It is found that used- and unused-plastic-waste RDFs can be successfully converted to generate the syngas consisting of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrocarbon, hydrogen sulfide oxygen and water vapor. The performance of the downdraft type fixed bed gasification system is evaluated in terms of the composition of syngas and the rate of carbon monoxide production. The result can be concluded that syngas produced from the used- and unused-plastic-waste RDFs is the same. The HHV (Higher Heating Value) of the syngas from the unused-plastic-waste RDF (781 kJ/Nm3) is slightly higher than that of the used one (500 kJ/Nm3). It is also suggested that the gasification of used- and unused-plastic-waste RDFs is a clean alternative to fossil fuels. Moreover, the syngas can be directly used in the internal gas combustion engines.