Sustainable Energy and Artificial Intelligence

Sustainable Power Generation from Waste: Performance Analysis of an Integrated Rankine Cycle and Anaerobic Digestion Plant

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Abolfazl Kamali Dehghan 1
Mahdi Mohseni 2

1 MSc, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Qom University of Technology, Qom, Iran

2 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Qom University of Technology

https://doi.org/10.61882/seai.2506-1030
Abstract
The rapid growth of urban populations and escalating municipal solid waste (MSW) production pose critical waste management challenges globally. Conventional landfilling requires substantial land resources and contributes to long-term environmental pollution, including greenhouse gas emissions and groundwater contamination. Incineration offers a promising alternative with energy recovery potential, but widespread adoption faces two key barriers: high capital costs and the inherently low calorific value of waste due to elevated moisture content (typically 30–50% in MSW). To address these limitations, this study proposes an innovative hybrid system integrating a Rankine cycle with anaerobic digesters, designed to optimize energy recovery from both dry and wet waste streams. The system processes organic waste and leachate in anaerobic digesters to produce methane, while residual waste undergoes incineration. Two operational scenarios are evaluated: direct waste incineration (Scenario 1) and thermal drying-enhanced incineration (Scenario 2). Thermodynamic analysis reveals a 5% improvement in first-law efficiency compared to conventional systems, directly correlated with waste input rates. Specifically, each 5 kg/s increase in raw waste flow boosts efficiency by ~7%, while simultaneously reducing natural gas demand by 10%. These findings demonstrate the system’s dual potential for enhancing energy recovery and advancing sustainable waste management practices.

Keywords

Rankine cycle
anaerobic digester
waste-to-energy plant
energy efficiency
municipal solid waste
Subjects

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Sustainable Energy and Artificial Intelligence
Volume 1, Issue 4
Autumn 2025
Pages 249-257

  • Receive Date 26 June 2025
  • Revise Date 11 July 2025
  • Accept Date 17 July 2025
  • First Publish Date 17 July 2025

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