Liquid fuel production from waste tires and water hyacinth: A comparative study of Co-pyrolysis and Co-gasification with Fischer-Tropsch integration

Abstract

This study investigates the sustainable conversion of waste tires (WT) and water hyacinth (WH) into liquid fuel using two thermochemical approaches: co-pyrolysis (direct method) and co-gasification integrated with Fischer-Tropsch (FT) process (indirect method). Aspen Plus software was employed to determine optimal operating conditions for maximizing fuel yield. The direct method achieved 6649.22 gallons of fuel per day at 400 °C with a WT/WH ratio of 75/25. In comparison, the indirect method, operating at 800 °C with a WT/WH ratio of 50/50, produced 115.92 kmol/h of syngas, which was subsequently converted into 8817.15 gallons of liquid fuel per day via the FT process. An economic analysis revealed that the indirect method offered higher fuel yields and better cost-effectiveness, with a capital investment approximately 5 million U.S. dollars lower than the direct method. These findings highlight the potential of integrating waste-derived feedstocks for efficient and sustainable liquid fuel production.