Sodium bicarbonate production from CO2 captured in Waste-to-Energy plants: an Italian case-study

As anthropogenic CO2 emissions continue to drive global warming, innovative approaches to repurpose CO2 into valuable products emerge as pivotal solutions to mitigate its environmental impact. CO2 utilization encompasses a range of technologies, including its conversion into fuels, chemicals, and materials, leveraging CO2 as a resource rather than treating it solely as a waste. This shift not only reduces greenhouse gas emissions but also supports the circular economy by integrating industrial processes with carbon capture and storage technologies. Specifically, in the Waste-to-Energy (WtE) context, sodium bicarbonate production can be an attractive solution, considering that it is required in the plant for SOx and acidic gases abatement. In this work, the carbon dioxide utilization to give sodium bicarbonate in a WtE context is analyzed. With reference to an existing waste-to-energy plant in Italy, the potential of this CO2 utilization method is highlighted by means of process simulation. A preliminary feasibility study is presented, based on heat and material balances retrieved from Aspen Plus� V14, properly set for the accurate modeling of the system�s behaviour. Process performances are discussed, in view of the pilot plant engineering and construction.