Paper on the process improvements in the gasification of municipal waste.

Korean chemists have reported a process for the removal of slag from a process that makes synthesis gas from municipal waste.

Synthesis gas can be used to make most simple carbon compounds, including those in gasoline, diesel fuel, and fuels that are superior to either of these.

"Because of industrialization, the quantity of municipal solid waste (MSW) has increased significantly in the developing countries, raising the question of its sustainable disposal management. Waste management systems include waste collection and sorting, followed by one or more of the following options: recovery of secondary materials (i.e., recycling), biological treatment of organic waste (i.e., production of marketable compost), thermal treatment (i.e., incineration to recover energy in the form of heat and electricity), and landfilling.1-5 The landfilling of MSW releases volatile organic compounds, along with leachable toxic heavy metals and greenhouse gases (GHGs) into the surrounding environment.6-12 Over the years, incinerating waste to generate energy has become the most common method of dealing with combustible waste efficiently, because it decreases the volume and mass of MSW.13 However, incineration has drawbacks as well (in particular, hazardous emissions and harmful process residues). The incineration of MSW also generates fly and bottom ashes, which releases leachable toxic heavy metals, dioxin, furans, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs)...14-17"

Abstract: http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/abstract.cgi/enfuem/asap/abs/ef050073+.html

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