Manipulating the H2:CO ratio in syngas using staged catalysis and process conditions for targeted end-use applications.

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Municipal solid waste is currently underutilised with most ending up in landfill or being incinerated. The thermal processing of municipal solid waste (MSW) has great potential to produce sustainable syngas that can used directly in engines, turbines and boilers or be processed to produce a range of high value fuels and chemicals. There have been several reports which highlight the importance of the H2:CO ratio in relation to the end use application of the product syngas. For example, Song and Guo describe the range of syntheses possible using syngas to produce, for example liquid fuels through Fischer Tropsch synthesis, high value chemicals (e.g. aldehydes and alcohols) through the hydroformylation reaction, production of methanol through catalytic reaction with syngas etc. The properties of the syngas, in particular the H2:CO ratio, influence the potential end-use synthesis of the syngas, for example an ideal H2:CO ratio for Fischer Tropsch is around 2.0, but for the hydroformylation reaction the optimum H2:CO ratio is around 1.0 [3]. Majewski and Wood [4] have reported that a H2/CO ratio between 1.7, 2.15 can be used for Fischer Tropsch processing for the production of liquid hydrocarbon fuels, depending on the type of catalyst used and the process conditions. A H2/CO ratio between 1.5-2 can also be used for production of methanol or for dimethyl-ether synthesis. Staged catalysis of MSW feedstock will be explored using a range of catalysts (e.g. single/multi-layered) and optimised reactor(s) design to produce high quality syngas with targeted H2:CO ratio for a particular end-use application e.g. Fischer-Tropsch feedstock gas. Catalysts play an important part in reactions however they suffer from a range of issues from deactivation, temperature stability, and selectivity thus new novel catalysts synthesis will be explored to address current issues/limitations. Additionally, increased attention is focusing on carbon dioxide capture therefore in-situ CO2 capture to improve product composition and emissions will be explored. Analytical techniques such as SEM, TEM, XRD, XPS, GS-MC, HPLC, TPO, will be used to investigate catalysts, gases and any liquid compositions. The over aim of the project is to develop a thermal process for municipal solid waste (MSW) to produce high quality syngas with a defied H2:CO ratio adaptable for particular end-use applications, together with an understanding of the influences of process parameters and catalysts on the process. Objectives of this research are as follows:1. Identify optimum H2:CO ratio for targeted end use applications.2. Investigation of the influence of steam and CO2 reaction atmospheres on the pyrolysis-catalytic reforming of MSW and its components towards targeted H2:CO ratios.3. Investigation of the influence of catalyst type for the steam/CO2 reforming of MSW and its components possessing with the aim of producing catalysts with high catalytic activity and stability in relation to syngas production and reduced carbon formation to maximise hydrogen and carbon monoxide production.4. Investigation of the optimum process parameter to maximise H2 and CO in the syngas production from the steam/CO2 reforming of MSW pyrolysis gases e.g. catalyst temperature, catalyst ratio and steam/CO2 flow rate.5. Investigation of additional stage(s) in the process to maximise H2 and CO in the syngas production e.g. via CO2 capture or steam/CO2 addition.