Proceedings of the 1st International Symposium on African Sustainable Energy Solutions (AfrSusEnS 2024)

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Effect of Gasifying Agents on the Gasification of Plastic Waste

Authors
Nomadlozi L. Khumalo1, Bilal Patel1, *
1Institute for Catalysis and Energy Solutions, University of South Africa, Corner of Christiaan de Wet Road and Pioneer Avenue, Florida, 1709, South Africa
*Corresponding author. Email: patelb@unisa.ac.za
Corresponding Author
Bilal Patel
Available Online 22 July 2025.
DOI
10.2991/978-94-6463-797-7_9How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Gasification; Equivalence ratio; Plastic waste
Abstract

Gasification is an attractive valorization option because it can convert plastic waste into valuable products such as syngas. If the syngas meets certain specifications, it can be used to produce fuel, chemicals, and electricity. Additionally, plastic waste is rich in carbon and hydrogen, both essential for high-quality syngas production. This study examines how critical factors such as the equivalence ratio (ER) and the type of gasifying agents such as oxygen or a mixture of oxygen-carbon dioxide or oxygen-steam affect the composition of the syngas, particularly the composition of hydrogen (H2) and carbon monoxide (CO), as well as the H2/CO ratio and the Lower Heating Value (LHV) of the syngas. The findings reveal that lower equivalence ratios (ER) below 0.4 favor higher yields of hydrogen (H₂) and carbon monoxide (CO), with a maximum hydrogen content of 58% achieved at an ER of 0.22 without the presence of carbon dioxide (CO₂). Additionally, the highest CO composition of 51% was observed using an oxygen-carbon dioxide mixture at an ER of 0.36. The ideal H₂/CO ratio of 2, suitable for processes like Fischer-Tropsch or methanol synthesis, was obtained at ER values between 0.1 and 0.3. The study also identified that the highest Lower Heating Value (LHV) of 15.4 MJ/Nm3 was recorded when using only oxygen as the gasifying agent at an ER of 0.1. Overall, this research highlights the potential of gasification to effectively address plastic waste management by optimizing syngas production through varying gasifying agents and operational conditions.

Copyright
© 2025 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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Volume Title
Proceedings of the 1st International Symposium on African Sustainable Energy Solutions (AfrSusEnS 2024)
Series
Advances in Engineering Research
Publication Date
22 July 2025
ISBN
978-94-6463-797-7
ISSN
2352-5401
DOI
10.2991/978-94-6463-797-7_9How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2025 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Cite this article

risenwbib
TY  - CONF
AU  - Nomadlozi L. Khumalo
AU  - Bilal Patel
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/07/22
TI  - Effect of Gasifying Agents on the Gasification of Plastic Waste
BT  - Proceedings of the 1st International Symposium on African Sustainable Energy Solutions (AfrSusEnS 2024)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 57
EP  - 65
SN  - 2352-5401
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-797-7_9
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-797-7_9
ID  - Khumalo2025
ER  -