Experimental study of steam-gasification of municipal solid wastes (MSW) using Ni-Cu/Γ-Al ₂O₃ nano catalysts

There is an increasing interest in the conversion of municipal solid waste (MSW) due to its low cost and high potential for production of syngas and chemicals. Gasification is a promising thermochemical process to transform carbon-based fuels into a valuable fuel/syngas. In this article, an experimental study of air-gasification of municipal solid waste (MSW) using Ni-Cu/γ-Al₂O₃ nano catalysts was developed. The particle sizes were ranged from 0.3 mm to 0.35 mm and loaded into the Micro-FB system at the beginning of each experiment. The influence of type of catalysts, gasification temperature and catalyst loading on tar concentration, hydrogen yield, and char conversion was evaluated. Results showed that with increasing the gasification temperature, the hydrogen yield gradually increases from 25 to 34 g/kg fuel at 600°C and 24 to 32 g/kg fuel at 800^°C when using Ni/γ-Al₂O₃ and Cu/γ-Al₂O₃ catalysts, respectively. It also found that the use of metal catalyst during the gasification process is an influential parameter affecting the evolution profiles of gasification products, especially for hydrogen.