.: The Waste to Energy Lab

The Waste to Energy (W2E) Laboratory was established in the fall 2009 through a joint MIT/MI research grant at MI campus, the purpose of the W2E laboratory are the followings:

  • To provide the students with rich experimental setup to conduct “cutting edge” research on the thermochemical pathways as applied to any candidate feedstock
  • To provide the local industry with collaborative research opportunity to ride on the “green wave” by exploring different recovery solutions to their waste
  • To develop the “know how” of thermochemical conversion and establish a database for common feedstock, their yield, species distribution and their efficiency
  • To develop, explore, and assess new and combined conversion technologies, i.e. solar assisted, plasma and develop high fidelity simulation to support these new findings
Students with strong fluid, thermodynamics, and structure mechanics, and heat transfer across all engineering disciplines are encouraged to join the W2E group. As today’s market needs for a well rounded engineers our activities respond and equip the students with this multidisciplinary background. 		 

.: Gasification

Gasification which refers to the production of synthesis gas (mixture of mainly carbon monoxide and hydrogen) from fossil fuels, biomass, and waste for subsequent utilization, has the potential to be implemented in various fields to aid in the process of controlling greenhouse gases, including:

  1. Gasification can be used for the production of H2 from coal or any carbonaceous material with high potential for CO2 sequestration. Following gasification of the fuel, CO can be chemically shifted into CO2 and then sequestered, while H2 would be used as a ”green” fuel.
  2. Gasification can be used in Integrated Gasification Combined Cycles (IGCC) for the possibility of cogeneration of electricity, hydrogen, and chemicals. The IGCC has a greater efficiency as compared with conventional pulverized coal fired power plants. Furthermore, the IGCC has less emissions, greenhouse gases, and particulates released into the atmosphere.
  3. Gasification can play an important role in solving the waste problem because any carbonaceous material can be gasified to produce synthesis gas. In fact, industrial waste such as waste-tire and plastics; as well as construction waste such as wood make an attractive gasification feedstock. Household waste, waste-water treatment sludge, and other types of waste can also be gasified. This ranks gasification technologies high as a potential solution for the staggering amounts of waste waiting for landfill or incineration in our own backyards; also preventing atmospheric pollution and reducing the risk of potential human health problems caused by inhaling the gaseous emissions and particulate matter from incineration.

Therefore, gasification is pictured as a plausible solution to convert valuable (coal, petroleum coke, natural gas) and invaluable (waste) energy sources into different useful forms including synthesis gas, chemicals, and power, in addition to CO2 management. In the UAE, gasification could be used to ensure a near-zero-emissions oil refinery by gasifying petroleum coke and sludge. This approach may well be used to environmentally treat the waste generated at an approximate rate of 5 kg/person/day in the Capital alone; thus placing gasification not only as a renewable energy source, but also an attractive solution to a critical socio-economic problem.