Dwindling fossil fuels and improper waste management are major challenges in the context of increasing population and industrialization, calling for new waste-to-energy sources. For instance, refuse-derived fuels can be produced from transformation of municipal solid waste, which is forecasted to reach 2.6 billion metric tonnes in 2030. Gasification is a thermal-induced chemical reaction that produces gaseous fuel such as hydrogen and syngas. Here, we review refuse-derived fuel gasification with focus on practices in various countries, recent progress in gasification, gasification modelling and economic analysis. We found that some countries that replace coal by refuse-derived fuel reduce CO2 emission by 40%, and decrease the amount municipal solid waste being sent to landfill by more than 50%. The production cost of energy via refuse-derived fuel gasification is estimated at 0.05 USD/kWh. Co-gasification by using two feedstocks appears more beneficial over conventional gasification in terms of minimum tar formation and improved process efficiency.
The occurrence and fate of antibiotic compounds in water can adversely affect human and animal health; hence, the removal of such substrates from soil and water is indispensable. Herein, we described the synthesis method of mesoporous carbon (MPC) via the pyrolysis route from a coordination polymer Fe-based MIL-53 (or MIL-53, shortly). The MPC structure was analyzed by several physical techniques such as SEM, TEM, BET, FT-IR, VSM, and XRD. The response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to find out the effects of initial concentration, MPC dosage, and pH on the removal efficiency of trimethoprim (TMP) and sulfamethoxazole (SMX) antibiotics in water. Under the optimized conditions, the removal efficiencies of TMP and SMX were found to be 87% and 99%, respectively. Moreover, the adsorption kinetic and isotherm studies showed that chemisorption and the monolayer adsorption controlled the adsorption process. The leaching test and recyclability studies indicated that the MPC structure was stable and can be reused for at least four times without any considerable change in the removal efficiency. Plausible adsorption mechanisms were also addressed in this study. Because of high maximum adsorption capacity (85.5 mg/g and 131.6 mg/g for TMP and SMX, respectively) and efficient reusability, MPC is recommended to be a potential adsorbent for TMP and SMX from water media.
The current work investigated emerging fields for generating and consuming hydrogen and synthetic Fischer-Tropsch (FT) fuels, especially from detrimental greenhouse gases, CO2 and CH4. Technologies for syngas generation ranging from partial oxidation, auto-thermal, dry, photothermal and wet or steam reforming of methane were adequately reviewed alongside biomass valorisation for hydrogen generation, water electrolysis and climate challenges due to methane flaring, production, storage, transportation, challenges and opportunities in CO2 and CH4 utilisation. Under the same conditions, dry reforming produces more coke than steam reforming. However, combining the two techniques produces syngas with a high H2/CO ratio, which is suitable for producing long-chain hydrocarbons. Although the steam methane reforming (SMR) process has been industrialised, it is well known to consume significant energy. However, coke production via catalytic methane decomposition, the prime hindrance to large-scale implementation of these techniques for hydrogen production, could be addressed by coupling CO with CO2 conversion to alter the H2/CO ratio of syngas, increasing the reaction temperatures in dry reforming, or increasing the steam content fed in steam reforming. Optimised hydrogen production and generation of green fuels from CO2 and CH4 can be achieved by implementing these strategies.