Sensitivity Analysis of Biomass Gasification Reactors Using Aspen Plus

Municipal solid waste (MSW) management has become a critical issue in rapidly growing urban centers like Port Harcourt, Nigeria, due to increasing waste generation from population growth and industrial activities. Traditional waste disposal methods, such as landfilling and open burning, present significant environmental challenges, including greenhouse gas emissions, land degradation, and air pollution. Gasification, a thermal conversion technology, offers a sustainable waste-to-energy solution by transforming MSW into syngas (a mixture of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, methane, and other gases), which can be utilized for power generation or as a chemical feedstock. This study presents the simulation of a gasification plant designed for the management of MSW in Port Harcourt City using Aspen Plus, a process simulation tool. The heterogeneous nature of MSW, composed of organic matter, and inorganics, was modeled based on proximate and ultimate analysis, with key components such as cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin representing the organic fraction. The simulation was carried out using an equilibrium-based approach in Aspen Plus, where the MSW undergoes drying, pyrolysis, gasification, and syngas cleaning stages. Key gasification reactions, including partial oxidation, the water-gas shift reaction, and methanation, were considered. The sensitivity analysis results from the simulation showed the effect of that the effect of biomass, steam and air flow rate on yield of products composition in the oxidation and reduction reactors. gasification process achieves a high conversion rate of approximately 85%.