In the present work an investigation of the potential use of waste derived fuel gas in molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) systems is performed. A simple numerical model of a MCFC is developed following a "system-level" approach that allows to investigate the impact of MCFC performance with respect to efficiency and energy production in complex power systems. An extensive set of experimental tests have been performed on single MCFCs and the experimental data are used to update and validate the numerical model. The fuel cell model is then implemented into a thermo-chemical model of a novel waste treatment system based on plasma torch gasification, previously developed by the authors. The predicted performances of this waste-to-energy system based on the integration of a low pollutant waste treatment technology and a high efficiency power unit are particularly promising. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.