Targeting carbon-neutral waste reduction: Novel process design, modelling and optimization for converting medical waste into hydrogen

Jianzhao Zhou, Chaoshuo Liu, Jingzheng Ren (Corresponding Author), Chang He

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This study proposes a novel system designed to turn waste masks (WM) into hydrogen while aiming at carbon neutrality. The system utilizes plasma gasification to primarily convert WM into syngas, which is subsequently upgraded through water gas shift to enhance hydrogen fraction. To mitigate carbon emissions, carbon capture techniques including monoethanolamine-based carbon absorption and oxy-fuel combustion are incorporated into the system. A high-fidelity model of the designed process is developed in Aspen Plus. Machine learning-driven optimization is applied to identify the optimal operating conditions. Utilizing Gaussian process regression-based surrogate optimization, the system achieves around 0.5 kg CO2 eq/kg H2 of levelized emissions per unit hydrogen (LEH) in the reaction stage and the execution time required for optimization is only 4 s, outperforming detailed process models-based optimization. Energy assessment highlights plasma gasification and CO2 absorption as the primary sources of energy loss. Furthermore, life cycle analysis indicates that CO2 absorption is the primary contributor to carbon emissions, accounting for approximately 60% of the total emissions. With levelized emissions of 1.27 kg CO2 eq/kg WM and 5.18 CO2 eq/kg H2, the designed system demonstrates superiority over conventional medical waste treatment and hydrogen production methods.

Original languageEnglish
Article number133272
Number of pages12
JournalEnergy
Volume310
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 30 Nov 2024

Keywords

  • Carbon reduction
  • Gaussian process regression
  • Hydrogen production
  • Medical waste treatment
  • Optimization
  • Process development

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Civil and Structural Engineering
  • Modelling and Simulation
  • Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
  • Building and Construction
  • Fuel Technology
  • Energy Engineering and Power Technology
  • Pollution
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • General Energy
  • Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
  • Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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