The potential for adding plastic waste fuel at a coal gasification power plant

Plastics wastes from a municipal solid waste plant have a high energy content which make it an interesting option for co-processing with coal. The potential for adding plastic waste to a coal fired Texaco IGCC (Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle) power station is examined. The resulting efficiency increases due to the improved gasification qualities of plastic over coal. For the overall economics to be the same as the coal only case, the maximum amount that the power station can afford to spend on preparing the plastic waste for use is similar to the assumed coal cost, plus the avoided landfill cost, minus the transport cost. The location of the power station plays a key role, since this has an effect on the transport costs as well as on the landfill charges. The sensitivity of the economics of co-processing plastic waste with coal for a variety of power station operational parameters is presented.