Development of an Integrated Waste to Energy Multigeneration System Based on Plastic Wastes for Sustainable Cities

In this study, a new multigeneration integrated system is proposed to produce hydrogen and cover the communal needs in terms of electric power, heat and fresh water in order to address clean energy and sustainability issues. The proposed system is studied comprehensively and analyzed thermodynamically to identify the effectiveness of the system and its potential implementation. The current system is simulated using the Aspen Plus and Aspen HYSYS. The thermodynamic calculations are carried out by using the engineering equation solver (EES) software package. This system primarily uses solar energy to produce electricity and as an input energy to the pyrolysis reactor that converts plastic wastes to syngas. Also, the system includes a thermal storage unit to maintain the operation during low solar irradiation. The syngas produced from plastic wastes pyrolysis is processed through a combined cycle to produce electricity. The system generates the electricity at a capacity of 21,601.9 kW. The methane produced is processed through a steam reforming unit to produce hydrogen at a total rate of 0.6 kg/s. The water desalination sub-system produces fresh water through multi effect desalination at a rate of 22.95 kg/s. The energy efficiency and exergy efficiency of the overall system are found to be 62.65% and 42.30% respectively.