Bioresource Technology, Vol.218, 595-605, 2016
Comparison of the co-gasification of sewage sludge and food wastes and cost-benefit analysis of gasification- and incineration-based waste treatment schemes
The compositions of food wastes and their co-gasification producer gas were compared with the existing data of sewage sludge. Results showed that food wastes are more favorable than sewage sludge for co-gasification based on residue generation and energy output. Two decentralized gasification-based schemes were proposed to dispose of the sewage sludge and food wastes in Singapore. Monte Carlo simulation-based cost-benefit analysis was conducted to compare the proposed schemes with the existing incineration-based scheme. It was found that the gasification-based schemes are financially superior to the incineration-based scheme based on the data of net present value (NPV), benefit-cost ratio (BCR), and internal rate of return (IRR). Sensitivity analysis was conducted to suggest effective measures to improve the economics of the schemes. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords:Cost-benefit analysis;Gasification;Food waste;Sewage sludge;Incineration;Monte Carlo simulation