Integration of gasification with CO2 capture using CaO sorbent is proposed as an alternative treatment to convert municipal solid waste (MSW) into energy. Aspen Plus process simulator was employed to study the process. Two models were built to represent the non-sorbent and the sorbent-enabled MSW gasification. The model validation against available experimental data shows high accuracy of the simulation result. The effect of CO2 capture using CaO sorbent on the syngas composition and lower heating value (LHV) was observed by comparing the two models, and sensitivity analysis was performed on both models. Several process parameters affecting the syngas composition and LHV were investigated, including CaO/MSW ratio, temperature, equivalence ratio, and steam/MSW ratio. The addition of CaO sorbent for CO2 capture was found to successfully reduce the CO2 content in the syngas, increase the H2 composition, and improve the syngas LHV at the temperature below 750 oC. The maximum H2 composition of 56.67% was obtained from the sorbent-enabled gasification. It was found that increasing equivalence ratio leads to a higher H2 concentration and syngas LHV. Raising steam/MSW ratio also increases the H2 production, but also reduces the LHV of the syngas. Observation of the temperature effect found the highest H2 production at 650 oC for both non-sorbent and sorbent-enabled gasification.

PP/clay nanocomposites samples of 1st and 2nd cycles (recycle) and different nanoclay loadings (i.e. 0, 5, 10, 15 wt%) samples were made by utilizing twin-screw extruder and injection molding machine. The samples were then characterized using a tensile test machine. The tensile tests results showed that modulus of elasticity and tensile strength of the nanocomposites samples for both 1st and 2nd cycles were all higher than the neat PP, and increased with increasing nanoclay loadings. The enhancements of modulus of elasticity (as compared to the neat PP) for 1st cycle of the nanocomposites were about 38.08%, 49.33%, and 78.65% for NC-5-I, NC-10-I, and NC-15-I, respectively. Whereas, for the 2nd cycle of the nanocomposites were about 44.33%, 59.59%, and 84.69% for NC-5-II, NC-10-II, and NC-15-I, respectively. This indicated that the incorporation of nanoclay in the PP matrix significantly increased mechanical properties, especially modulus of elasticity and tensile strength of the nanocomposites. Additionally, values of modulus of elasticity and tensile strength of 1st cycle and 2nd cycle of PP/clay nanocomposites were compared by plotting them in two graphs. The plots revealed that reprocessing of the nanocomposites did not significantly influence the mechanical properties of the nancomposites.

Microalgae is known as the future bioenergy resources due to its unlimited potential and availability. One of the numerous paths to acquire an energy source is gasification, which produce syngas and methane as a hydrocarbon fuel or feedstock product. To set up an efficient gasification plant, several essential information is needed including the effect of oxidizing agent and steam to carbon (S/C) ratio to energy efficiency on certain biomass properties. This paper aims to study the highest exergy possibility on microalgae gasification process by examining the effect of steam and air flowrate independently via ASPEN Plus simulation. The result was validated with experimental data to verify the simulation reliability. It was found that the thermodynamic based simulation is suitable to predict the reactor behavior and acquire an optimum operating condition.Keywords: microalgae; gasification; exergy; simulation

In the present work, polypropylene (PP)/nanoclay composites were fabricated by melt compounding nanoclay based masterbatch and PP pellets using a twin screw extruder (TSE). The compounding process was carried out at four different nanoclay loadings (i.e. 0, 5, 10, and 15 wt%) and two times processing i.e. 1st cycle and 2nd cycle. The fabricated nanocomposites were then characterized by using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and oscillatory rheometer. The SEM images showed that the nanoclay materials were well distributed in the PP matrix, which were indicated by the white needle-like appearance. Additionally, the dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) results showed that the storage modulus of all the nanocomposites both 1st and 2nd cycles were higher than that of the neat PP, and increased with increasing nanoclay loadings. The improvement of storage modulus of the nanocomposites as compared to the neat PP (at temperature of 60°C) were approximately 56%, 84.3%, and 138% for NC-5-I, NC-10-I, and NC-15-I, respectively; and 62%, 89.6%, and 128% for NC-5-II, NC-10-II, and NC-15-II, respectively. While, tstorage modulus of all samples decreased with increasing temperature, which indicates than the nanocomposites simply behaved as polymeric material. Additionally, the relationship between the storage modulus, nanoclay loading (wt%), and temperature (°C) was successfully modeled by using Equation (1): G’ = Ae B(T) and Equation (2): A = 4.91E7 x (wt%) + 7.47E8, while B constant value was -0.0221.