Master's thesis / Bachelor's thesis / Student research project

Thermochemical Recycling: Process design for next generation Waste-to-Chemicals plants

27.01.2021, Studentische Hilfskräfte, Praktikantenstellen, Studienarbeiten

The objective of this research project, thus, is to assess previous WtC plant designs, understand their reasons for failure, and derive design guidelines for next generation WtC plants based on these lessons learnt. Drawing upon these design guidelines, different WtC process configurations should be defined and compared.

Master's thesis / Bachelor's thesis / Student research project

Description

In the European Union (EU) we produce more than 2.5 billion tons of waste every year. As part of the Green Deal, the EU launched the new circular economy action plan in 2020. An important aspect of a functioning circu-lar economy is the sustainable recycling of waste materials to new materials for reuse.

With the help of modern thermochemical recycling processes such as plasma-assisted gasification processes, all types of waste can be broken down into their basic components and processed into a variety of high-quality basic chemicals via directly connected synthesis plants. Thermochemical recycling processes are, however, cur-rently not yet in use on an industrial scale. Most attempts at industrial scale thermochemical recycling such as those undertaken by Thermoselect or Schwarze Pumpe have failed. In order to promote the commercialization of these technologies, it is important to learn from the past and incorporate lessons-learnt into the process de-signs of next generation Waste-to-Chemicals (WtC) plants.

The objective of this research project, thus, is to assess previous WtC plant designs, understand their reasons for failure, and derive design guidelines for next generation WtC plants based on these lessons learnt. Drawing upon these design guidelines, different WtC process configurations should be defined and compared.

Work packages:

• Creation of overview on past industrial-scale Waste-to-X projects

• Root cause analysis of failure of major Waste-to-X projects through interviews with industry professionals

• Definition of design guidelines and design of potential next generation Waste-to-Chemicals processes based on these learnings

• Process simulation and evaluation using Aspen Plus

Prerequisites

Prerequisites for the research project are an excellent academic record, the ability to work independently, high level of motivation as well as a strong thermodynamics background. Skills in process simulation using Aspen Plus are an advantage. Previous knowledge in the areas of waste management and thermochemical process technology is also helpful, but not a requirement.

Kontakt: sebastian.bastek@tum.de