Environmental and social sustainability of syngas production from RDF in Apulia Region

The issue of urban waste has become a priority from a social and environmental point of view and in literature there are various papers studying technological and economical solutions to overcome there problems. For this reason, important and strategic choices are needed with the goal to increase the recovering of waste separate collection ( to reduce waste landfilled) and to increase energy recovery from waste value chain. The aim of this paper has been to assess the environmental impacts of a pilot plant from RDF ( refused derived fuels) to syngas, through the LCA methodology to create innovative network of sustainable business closing the loop in terms of circular economy. Syngas is a gas obtained from a pyro gasification process, which converts carbonaceous materials into simpler molecules of CO and CO2 hydrogen and methane to be reused to feed small engines or to produce other chemical intermediates. The case study presented, offers the possibility to evaluate an alternative option to reduce waste landfilled creating in the same time new business and new model of share in knowledge ecosystem perspective. Considering the circular economy aspect, the use of RDF to produce syngas can represent a goal to be persuaded. The environmental analysis shows that a small plant to produce syngas, if well managed, can represents an important choices for the environmental performance. On the basis of data and considering that a percentage of 20 -30 % has lost in the biological and mechanical treatment, in Puglia there is a potential RDF-end of waste in the range of 374-428 millions of kilograms per years.Hence, according to the provincials areas of Puglia almost six plants would be implemented, creating a replicable models with the final aim to "quickly" re-use waste and re-invent industry