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Renewable energy

Unraveling the Potential of Fischer-Tropsch Fuel Production from Excavated Waste and Landfill Gas

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Research conducted by a team of scientists at the South China University of Technology has shed light on the potential of converting excavated waste and landfill gas into Fischer-Tropsch fuel. Using a life-cycle system and simulations with Aspen Plus, the team investigated the techno-environment-economic performances of this process, revealing promising results. Funded by the National Key R & D Program of China, National Natural Science Foundation of China, and others, this study demonstrates the feasibility of a greener energy supply structure.

Key Takeaways:

  • The systematic exergy efficiency of the life-cycle system is 66.70 %, with the main consumer of electricity being the FT and solid oxide electrolysis cell sections.
  • Life cycle assessment (LCA) results show that the production of FT fuel from residue-derived fuel and landfill gas brings a global warming potential (GW) of 41.77 kg(CO2eq)/GJ.
  • The up- and downstream life-cycle processes, especially the excavated waste mining process, have further promoted the final GW to 72.56 kg(CO2eq)/GJ.
  • With a levelized cost of fuel (LCOF) of 33.23 $/GJ, a net present value (NPV) of 23.21 M$ is reported in this work.
  • Sensitivity results showed that a transformation towards a greener energy supply structure can decrease the GW to 72.56 kg(CO2eq)/GJ in the future, and the breakeven point is reached when the gasoline and diesel price drops by around 20 %.
  • The research has been peer-reviewed and published in Chemical Engineering Research and Design.

Statistics:

  • Systematic exergy efficiency: 66.70 %
  • Global warming potential (GW): 41.77 kg(CO2eq)/GJ
  • Final global warming potential (GW) after up- and downstream life-cycle processes: 72.56 kg(CO2eq)/GJ
  • Levelized cost of fuel (LCOF): 33.23 $/GJ
  • Net present value (NPV): 23.21 M$
  • Breakeven point: around 20 % reduction in gasoline and diesel price

Sources:

  • "Unraveling the Potential of Fischer-tropsch Fuel Production From In-situ Utilization of Excavated Waste and Landfill Gas With Renewable Hydrogen Supply" by Yuting Tang et al., Chemical Engineering Research and Design, 2025;222:155-164.
  • South China University of Technology, School of Electrical Power Engineering, Guangzhou 510640, People's Republic of China.
  • National Key R & D Program of China, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation, Technology Innovation Program of Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of Guangdong Province.

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