Biofuels from Pyrolysis of Third-Generation Biomass from Household and Garden Waste Composting Bin: Kinetics Analysis
Bruna Rijo,
Ana Paula Soares Dias,
Novi Dwi Saksiwi,
Manuel Francisco Costa Pereira,
Rodica Zăvoianu,
Octavian Dumitru Pavel,
Olga Ferreira,
Rui Galhano dos Santos
Affiliations
Bruna Rijo
CoLAB BIOREF—Collaborative Laboratory for Biorefineries, 4466-901 São Mamede de Infesta, Portugal
Ana Paula Soares Dias
CERENA, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal
Novi Dwi Saksiwi
CERENA, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal
Manuel Francisco Costa Pereira
CERENA, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal
Rodica Zăvoianu
Research Center for Catalysts & Catalytic Processes, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Bucharest, 4-12 Regina Elisabeta Bd., 030018 Bucharest, Romania
Octavian Dumitru Pavel
Research Center for Catalysts & Catalytic Processes, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Bucharest, 4-12 Regina Elisabeta Bd., 030018 Bucharest, Romania
Olga Ferreira
CERENA, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal
Rui Galhano dos Santos
CERENA, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal
The modern society produces large amounts of household waste with high organic matter content. The vermicomposting of household waste produces high-value humic substances and is a way to stabilize organic material for later use as raw material (3rd generation biomass) for bioenergy proposes. A 6-month matured compost, combining vegetable and fruit scraps from domestic trash and grass and shrub clippings from yard waste, was evaluated to assess its potential as a raw material in pyrolysis processes. The pyrolysis activation energy (Kissinger) of the composted material showed values in the range of 200–300 kJ/mol, thus confirming its suitability for pyrolysis processes with promising H2 yields. The treatment of the composted material with H2SO4 and NaOH solution (boiling; 1 mol/L) led to the production of solid residues that present higher pyrolysis activation energies, reaching 550 kJ/mol for the most resilient fraction, which makes them suitable to produce carbonaceous materials (biochar) that will have incorporated the inorganics existing in the original compost (ashes 37.6%). The high content of inorganics would play a chief role during pyrolysis since they act as gasification promoters.
