• Aspen Plus
• Exergy
• Gasification
• Municipal Solid Waste
• Thermoeconomic analysis

The objective of the present work is to evaluate the alternative of gasification for energy recovery of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in Brazil. First, an overview of the Brazilian MSW generation and management as well as of the gasification technology is presented. In order to figure out the possible composition of the syngas, a BFB gasifier is modelled and simulated using Aspen Plus 8 ®. A sensitivity analysis is performed on the gasifier according to the steam to solid waste ratio; energy and exergy performance parameters are utilized for estimating the efficiency of the gasifier. The produced syngas is supposed to be burnt and used for heat and power production through a Rankine steam cycle in a cogeneration plant. The plant is simulated with a range of representative thermal input found according to the MSW generation. Low-pressure steam is supposed to be used in absorption chillers for chilled water production. First and Second Law efficiency parameters are employed for the evaluation of the cogeneration plant. A thermoeconomic analysis is finally developed in order to allocate the cost of the products using an exergy basis.