Evaluating the Techno-economic Potential of an Integrated Material Recovery and Waste-to-Hydrogen System

This study proposes a novel integrated material recovery and waste-to-hydrogen concept in view of enhancing resource efficiency and minimising environmental impact. A comprehensive techno-economic evaluation is conducted on an integrated system consisting of material recovery facility (MRF) and gasification of rejected materials for hydrogen production (Gasification-H-2). Valorising these rejected materials through Gasification-H-2 system can potentially offer a saving of 1.6 million pound/y on disposal cost while diverting significant amount of waste from landfills. Owing to the high market value of hydrogen, the integrated system with material recovery and hydrogen production generates 4 times more revenues than a conventional MRF, though at the expense of higher capital and operating costs. The minimum hydrogen selling price lies in the range of 2.2 pound/kg (100 dry t/h of rejects) and 6.1 pound/kg (2 dry t/h of rejects). This study concludes that a larger Gasification-H-2 system is desirable, i.e. greater than 100 dry t/h of rejects, to compete with the production cost of hydrogen generated from fossil-based systems. It is also recommended that an economically competitive production should comprise multiple MRF integrated with a large-scale Gasification-H-2 system.