Name
Co-pyrolysis of biomass and medical waste for enhanced biofuel production: insights from exergy, economic and environmental analyses
Description
The increasing pressure on waste management systems and the growing demand for sustainable energy solutions are accelerating interest in advanced thermal conversion technologies. This presentation explores the co-pyrolysis of oil palm waste (biomass) and medical protective clothing (polymer-based waste) as an integrated waste-to-resource pathway for biofuel production.
Using Aspen Plus simulation, the study evaluates process performance through exergy, exergo-economic, exergo-environmental and pinch analyses to assess energy efficiency, cost implications and environmental impact. Results show that co-pyrolysis significantly enhances biofuel yield (up to ~84%) compared to conventional biomass pyrolysis (~38%), demonstrating strong synergistic effects between the feedstocks.
However, the process also introduces practical trade-offs, including lower overall exergy efficiency due to increased irreversibilities and higher energy losses within key units such as reactors and heat exchangers. Economic and environmental assessments further identify cost and impact hotspots, highlighting key opportunities for targeted optimisation.
The findings demonstrate the potential of co-pyrolysis as an advanced thermal conversion route for valorising mixed waste streams, with implications for scalability, process integration and overcoming barriers to wider deployment in resource recovery systems.
Authors
Taiwo Dada, ILF CONSULTING ENGINEERS, NIGERIA