Energy recovery from co-gasification of waste polyethylene and polyethylene terephthalate blends

Among various energy recovery technologies from waste materials, gasification has emerged as a promising technology to develop a sustainable waste management system that would significantly reduce pollutions in landfill and maximize energy recovery. Co-gasification of plastics, biomass and coal has been extensively studied during recent years in an attempt to produce a high calorific producer gas. The present work provides a detailed simulation analysis on the product composition and conversion efficiencies of co-gasification of waste polyethylene (PE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Co-gasification of PE and PET with only steam results in higher heating value gas, and better cold gas efficiency than PE gasification with air and steam. By adjusting the blend ratio of feedstock, it is possible to predict and, hence control the quality (composition) of syngas, thus enabling feedstock selectivity for various applications. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.