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NEW TECHNOLOGIES

Circular Hydrogen

from Waste Gasification

Combining waste recovery and
production of chemicals into one
process benefits of synergy and
allows to significantly reduce overall
emissions.
An innovative route for circular
Hydrogen production

Giacomo Rispoli, Managing Director, MyRechemical
Gaetano Iaquaniello, Vice-Chairman,
NextChem S.p.A.
Annarita Salladini, Senior Process Engineer,
MyRechemical
Alessia Borgogna, Junior Process Engineer, spotlight as a challenge matter to be urgently faced by
MyRechemical many countries. As a consequence of the ban applied
by Chinese government on January 2018, towards the
MyRechemical, a subsidiary of NextChem, part of the import of waste from foreign countries, many industries
MaireTecnimont Group in developed countries, due to their past reliance on ex-
porting, started to facing challenges as a consequence
of their limited installed waste management capacity [2].
This scenario may get worse considering that increase
he increasing concern for environmental in standards of living will inevitably bring to higher con-
pollution, mainly related to GHG emissions, sumption and higher waste production.
is promoting the so-called energy transition Conversion of waste into a chemical solves at the same
towards more sustainable productive sys- time the issue of waste disposal and the substitution of
tem based on renewable energy exploita- a fossil feedstock. By this way, waste is valorized as a
T tion and circular economy principles. On source of carbon and hydrogen, thus representing a
this regard the concept of sustainability is often coupled widely available renewable source, without any geo-
to the concept of waste valorization as a driver for re- graphical restriction. About 2 billion Mtons per year of
thinking conventional productive systems. Such vision, waste are globally produced. By 2050 it is foreseen to
aiming for a more sustainable use of resources is also reach 3.4 billion of Mtons, due to the expected increase
supported by the European Commission (EU) through of population and GDP, which both influence waste pro-
a policy stating that “waste management should be duction value per year [3].
improved and transformed into sustainable material As a matter of fact, both chemical production and waste
management with a view to promoting the principles of disposal by incineration imply high greenhouse gases
the circular economy, enhancing the use of renewable (GHG) emissions. Combining waste recovery and pro-
energy and providing new economic opportunities” (EU duction of chemicals into one process benefits of syn-
Directive, 2018) [1]. ergy and allows to significantly reduce overall emissions.
The concept of circular economy is currently re-design- The ‘Waste to Chemical’ approach is also favored from
ing many industrial fields with the aim of waste streams an economic point of view being the waste feedstock not
valorization. a cost but a revenue.
Moving into the field of solid waste, municipal and plas- The waste fractions which are taken into account as
tic waste management was recently placed under the sources in the waste-to-chemical process are indeed

Impiantistica Italiana - Gennaio-Febbraio 2022 43