Aihong Meng

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) formation from the pyrolysis of different municipal solid waste fractions

The formation of 2-4 ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) from the pyrolysis of nine different municipal solid waste fractions (xylan, cellulose, lignin, pectin, starch, polyethylene (PE), polystyrene (PS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET)) were investigated in a fixed bed furnace at 800 °C. The mass distribution of pyrolysis was also reported. The results showed that PS generated the most total PAH, followed by PVC, PET, and lignin. More PAH were detected from the pyrolysis of plastics than the pyrolysis of biomass. In the biomass group, lignin generated more PAH than others. Naphthalene was the most abundant PAH, and the amount of 1-methynaphthalene and 2-methynaphthalene was also notable. Phenanthrene and fluorene were the most abundant 3-ring PAH, while benzo[a]anthracene and chrysene were notable in the tar of PS, PVC, and PET. 2-ring PAH dominated all tar samples, and varied from 40 wt.% to 70 wt.%. For PS, PET and lignin, PAH may be generated directly from the aromatic structure of the feedstock.

A review of dioxin-related substances during municipal solid waste incineration

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) are among the most toxic chemicals and the main restriction on municipal solid waste incineration. To exert more effective control over the formation of dioxin homologues during municipal solid waste incineration, it is significant to investigate dioxin-related compounds. Despite the numerous studies about PCDD/Fs, a unified understanding regarding many problems has yet to be reached because the homologues of PCDD/Fs are excessive, the measurement of PCDD/Fs is difficult, and the formation mechanisms of PCDD/Fs are complicated. Firstly, this paper briefly introduces the different formation mechanisms of PCDD/Fs, including high temperature homogeneous reaction PCDD/Fs formation and low temperature heterogeneous reaction PCDD/Fs formation. Then the sources of PCDD/Fs including precursors (chlorophenols and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) and residual carbon are summarized. In particular, this paper analyzes the substances that influence PCDD/Fs formation and their impact mechanisms, including different categories of chlorine (Cl2, HCl and chloride in fly ash), O2, copper, sulfur, water, and nitrogen compounds (ammonia and urea). Due to the high cost and complexity of PCDD/Fs measurement, PCDD/Fs indicators, especially chlorobenzenes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, are summarized, to find an effective surrogate for quick, convenient and real-time monitoring of PCDD/Fs. Finally, according to the results of the current study, recommendations for further research and industrial applications prospects are proposed.

A novel method for kinetics analysis of pyrolysis of hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin in TGA and macro-TGA

The pyrolysis of three biomass components (hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin) was investigated in both a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) and self-designed macro-TGA. Slow and fast pyrolysis experiments were carried out in the macro-TGA. A novel peak analysis-least square method (PA-LSM) was developed to analyze the kinetics. The results showed that a complex pyrolysis reaction could be described by a series of parallel reactions, and each reaction could be described by a Gaussian peak. The kinetic parameters could be calculated via the least square method, and the Gaussian peak could be simulated very well. The slow pyrolysis in the TGA and macro-TGA is different, because of the heat transfer process. The pyrolysis and fast pyrolysis in macro-TGA also had considerable differences.

Investigation of heavy metal partitioning influenced by flue gas moisture and chlorine content during waste incineration

The impact of moisture on the partitioning of the heavy metals including Pb, Zn, Cu and Cd in municipal solid waste (MSW) was studied in a laboratory tubular furnace. A thermodynamic investigation using CHEMKIN software was performed to compare the experimental results. Simulated waste, representative of typical MSW with and without chlorine compounds, was burned at the background temperature of 700 and 950 degrees C, respectively. In the absence of chlorine, the moisture content has no evident effect on the volatility of Pb, Zn and Cu at either 700 or 950 degrees C, however, as flue gas moisture increasing the Cd distribution in the bottom ash increased at 700 degrees C and reduced at 950 degrees C, respectively. In the presence of chlorine, the flue gas moisture reduced the volatility of Pb, Zn and Cu due to the transformation of the more volatile metal chlorides into less volatile metal oxides, and the reduction became significant as chlorine content increase. For Cd, the chlorine promotes its volatility through the formation of more volatile CdCl2. As a result, the increased moisture content increases the Pb, Zn, Cu and Cd concentrations in the bottom ash, which limits the utilization of the bottom ash as a construction material. Therefore, in order to accumulate heavy metals into the fly ash, MSW should be dried before incineration.

Thermodynamic analysis on heavy metals partitioning impacted by moisture during the MSW incineration

A thermodynamic calculation was carried out to predict the behavior and speciation of heavy metals (HMs), Pb, Zn, Cu, and Cd, during municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration with the different moisture levels. The calculation was based on the minimization of the total Gibbs free energy of the multi-components and multi-phases closed system reaching chemical equilibrium. The calculation also indicated the reaction directions and tendencies of HMs components. The impacts of chlorine additives (No PVC, 1%PVC, and 5%PVC) and moisture on the behavior of HMs were investigated at different temperature levels in the system (750 °C, 950 °C, and 1150 °C). Furthermore, because the incineration temperature falls down with the increase in moisture in waste, the co-influence of moisture and temperature in combusting MSW on the HMs was also studied with the given chlorine (as 1%PVC+0.5%NaCl). The results showed that in the non-chlorine system, the impact of the moisture on Pb, Zn, and Cu was not significant, and the ratio of compound transformation was less than 10%, except the Cd compounds at 950 °C and 1150 °C. In the system with low chlorine (as 1%PVC) at constant temperature, the chlorides of HMs (Cd, Pb, Zn, and Cu) transferred to oxides, and when the content of chlorine rose up (as 5%PVC), the ratio of the chlorides of HMs (Cd, Pb, Zn, and Cu) transferring to oxides fell down noticeably. When the moisture varied together with the temperature, the Zn and Cu compounds transferred from chlorides to oxides with increase in moisture as well as decrease in temperature. At the temperature of 700-1000 °C, the impact of temperature on Pb and Cd was little and the moisture was the main factor; while at the temperature of 1000-1200 °C, the impact of increase in moisture and decrease in temperature on Pb and Cd was almost equal and reversed.

Thermogravimetric characteristics of typical municipal solid waste fractions during co-pyrolysis

The interactions of nine typical municipal solid waste (MSW) fractions during pyrolysis were investigated using the thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). To compare the mixture results with the calculation results of superposition of single fractions quantitatively, TG overlap ratio was introduced. There were strong interactions between orange peel and rice (overlap ratio 0.9736), and rice and poplar wood (overlap ratio 0.9774). The interactions of mixture experiments postponed the peak and lowered the peak value. Intense interactions between PVC and rice, poplar wood, tissue paper, wool, terylene, and rubber powder during co-pyrolysis were observed, and the pyrolysis at low temperature was usually promoted. The residue yield was increased when PVC was blended with rice, poplar wood, tissue paper, or rubber powder; while the residue yield was decreased when PVC was blended with wool.

Effect of interactions of PVC and biomass components on the formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) during fast co-pyrolysis

The interactions of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and biomass components (hemi-cellulose, cellulose and lignin) during fast pyrolysis were investigated at 800 °C in a fixed bed reactor. The interactions of PVC and biomass components decreased the HCl yield and increased the tar yield significantly. During the co-pyrolysis of PVC with the biomass components, most polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) components were decreased compared with the calculated proportion results. The mechanism of the interactions may be that in the fast pyrolysis process, the processes of dehydrochlorination and chain scission occur in a very short time. Biomass materials and/or bio-char can act as catalysts which inhibit the dehydrochlorination process or promote the chain scission of PVC. Therefore, the dehydrochlorination process might not be completed, resulting in the production of chlorinated oil compounds. Thus, the HCl yield is reduced and PAH concentrations are decreased during the co-pyrolysis of PVC and biomass.

Pyrolysis and gasification of typical components in wastes with macro-TGA

The pyrolysis and gasification of typical components of solid waste, cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, pectin, starch, polyethylene (PE), polystyrene (PS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) were performed and compared in a macro thermogravimetric analyzer (macro-TGA). Three model biomasses, poplar stem, orange peel and Chinese cabbage, were applied to pyrolysis and gasification simulation by their components based on TG curves. Compared to those from TGA, peaks temperature of the differential thermogravimetric (DTG) curves of each samples pyrolysis on macro-TGA delayed 30-55°C due to heat transferring effect. CO2 promoted the thermal decomposition of hemicellulose, lignin, starch, pectin and model biomasses significantly by Boudouard reaction, and enhanced slightly the decomposition of PET. The activation energy (AE) of biomass components pyrolysis on macro-TGA was 167-197 kJ/mol, while that of plastic samples was 185-235 kJ/mol. The activation energy of 351-377 kJ/mol was corresponding to the Boudouard reaction in CO2 gasification. All overlap ratios in pseudo-components simulation were higher than 0.98 to indicate that pseudo-components model could be applied to both pyrolysis and CO2 gasification, and the mass fractions of components derived from pyrolysis and gasification were slightly different but not brought in obvious difference in simulating curves when they were applied across.

Effect of Moisture on Partitioning of Heavy Metals in Incineration of Municipal Solid Waste

The effect of moisture in municipal solid waste (MSW) on partitioning of lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu) and cadmium (Cd) was studied in a laboratory tubular furnace by using simulated MSW. The moisture in MSW influences heavy metals in following ways, to increase the moisture in flue gas and decrease the combustion temperature, to prolong the combustion time, and to prolong the releasing time of volatiles with the furnace temperature decreased by increasing the moisture. The volatilization of Pb, Zn and Cd was enhanced by increasing the moisture in MSW because of the prolonged combustion time. For Pb and Zn, the combustion time was important at higher temperature, while for Cd, it was important at low temperature. The moisture content showed slight effect on Cu partitioning. When extra chlorine was added to MSW, such as 1%PVC + 0.5%NaCl, the volatilization of Pb, Zn and Cu was enhanced by increasing the moisture because water evaporation reduced the temperature and increased devolatilization time. At higher temperature, NaCl tends to decompose and generates more free chlorine, producing more metal chlorides. Since Cd is a strong volatile heavy metal in MSW, the effect of moisture content on its volatilization is less than that of Pb, Zn or Cu during the MSW incineration.

Effects of Sulfur Compounds on Cd Partitioning in a Simulated Municipal Solid Waste Incinerator

Abstract The effect of sulfur compounds (including sulfur, sulfide, sulfite and sulfate), initial concentration of heavy metal and operating conditions on Cd emission in municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration were investigated using a simulated tubular furnace and simulated MSW spiked with Cd. The concentration of Cd was measured by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) after digesting the samples including bottom ash, fly ash and flue gas according to related USEPA methods. The results show that S and Na 2 S tend to increase Cd partitioning in bottom ash, whereas Na 2 SO 3 and Na 2 SO 4 tend to reduce Cd partitioning in bottom ash. The effect of sulfur compounds on Cd partitioning in bottom ash was in the sequence of Na 2 S > S > Na 2 SO 3 > Na 2 SO 4 . chemical equilibrium analysis is also performed to determine the effect of sorbents on Cd adsorption. The calculations show that S presents strong affinity for Cd and restrains Cd adsorption by SiC 2 , whereas when temperature rises to between 830°C and 1030°C, Cd adsorption efficiency of SiO 2 is over 80% and the efficiency of Al 2 O 3 is up to 85%.