Energies (Oct 2021)

Experimental Study on Co-Pyrolysis Characteristics of Household Refuse and Two Industrial Solid Wastes

  • Hancheng Ma,
  • Jianye Bei,
  • Mingxiu Zhan,
  • Wentao Jiao,
  • Xu Xu,
  • Xiaodong Li

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/en14216945
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14, no. 21
p. 6945

Abstract

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The calorific value of household refuse (HR) is greatly improved after classification, which includes the implementation of sufficient pyrolysis conditions. Therefore, a better pyrolysis effect can be achieved by co-pyrolysis with industrial solid waste (ISW) with high calorific value. In this work, HR and ISW were used as raw materials for co-pyrolysis experiments. The influence on the distribution of three-phase products after co-pyrolysis, the concentration of heavy metals and dioxins in the flue gas, and the distribution of PCDD/Fs isomers were studied. The results showed that, at a temperature of 600 °C and H/C = 1.3, of the formed material, the quantity of pyrolysis gas was approximately 27 wt.%, and the quantity of pyrolysis oil was approximately 40.75 wt.%, which mainly contained alkanes, olefins, and aromatic hydrocarbons. When S/C = 0.008, pyrolysis gas accounted for 25.95 wt.% of the formed material, and pyrolysis oil for 41.95 wt.% of the formed material. The ignition loss rate of pyrolysis coke was approximately 20%, and the maximal calorific value was 14,217 KJ/kg. According to the thermogravimetric experiment, the co-pyrolysis of HR and ISW can promote the positive reaction of pyrolysis, and the weight loss reached 62% at 550 °C. The emission of gaseous heavy metals was relatively stable, and the concentration of heavy metals slightly decreased. The main heavy metals in the ash were Cu, Fe, and Zn. The emission of dioxins could be effectively reduced by the pyrolysis of HR with ISW, and the produced dioxins were mainly synthesized from de novo synthesis. After pyrolysis, the toxic equivalent of dioxins in the flue gas was reduced from 0.69 to 0.29 ng I-TEQ/Nm3, and the distribution of dioxin isomers in the flue gas had little influence. The experimental results provide a theoretical basis for the application of co-pyrolysis technology with HR and ISW.

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