Equilibrium modelling of steam gasification of PKS system and CO₂ sorption using CaO: A digitalized parametric and techno-economic analysis

The conversion of palm oil waste into energy can complement the energy mix with renewable energy and bring economic benefits to the palm oil industry. A process simulation model for palm kernel shell (PKS) steam gasification for H₂-enriched syngas with the integration of CO₂ capturing using CaO has been investigated using Aspen Plus V10®. Techno-economic and energy analyses have also been conducted to identify energy-saving opportunities for commercialization. The effect of process variables, including reactor temperature (600–800 °C), Steam/PKS ratio (0.5–2 wt/wt), and CaO/PKS ratio (0–1.5 wt/wt), have been determined, with the predicted results compared to the reported experimental data. H₂ concentration has been increased with 76–78 vol% with the temperature elevation from 650 to 750 °C. Additionally, a substantial increase in H₂ content from 68 to 72vol% was observed when the steam flow rate was increased from 0.5 to 1.5. Conversely, the CO₂ concentration decreased from 25 to 8vol% as the adsorbent ratio was raised from 0.5 to 1.5. The techno-economic analysis showed that the capital investment is $4.11 million, and the operating cost is $3.89 million per year, which is also very high due to the high raw material costs. In the case of energy, saving that 3.03 and 1.513 Gcal/hr can be saved in terms of utilities and gas cooling that economized the process which shows that utilization of these in heat exchange networks can significantly reduce costs, with up to 78 % savings in heat exchanger capital and 35 % in total energy consumption. The energy potential could be harnessed through the digitalization of the process.