Aijun Li

Comparison of CaO’s effect on the fate of heavy metals during thermal treatment of two typical types of MSWI fly ashes in China

Both grate and fluidized bed incinerators are widely used for MSW incineration in China. CaO addition for removing hazardous emissions from MSWI flue gas changes the characteristics of fly ash and affects the thermal behavior of heavy metals when the ash is reheated. In the present work, two types of MSWI fly ashes, sampled from both grate and fluidized bed incinerators respectively, were thermal treated at 1023-1323 K and the fate of heavy metals was observed. The results show that both of the fly ashes were rich in Ca and Ca-compounds were the main alkaline matter which strongly affected the leaching behavior of heavy metals. Ca was mostly in the forms of Ca(OH)2 and CaCO3 in the fly ash from grate incinerator in which nascent fly ash particles were covered by Ca-compounds. In contrast, the content of Ca was lower in the fly ash from fluidized bed incinerator and Ca was mostly in the form of CaSO4. Chemical reactions among Ca-compounds caused particle agglomeration in thermal treated fly ash from grate incinerator, restraining the heavy metals volatilization. In thermal treated fly ash from fluidized bed incinerator, Ca was converted into aluminosilicates especially at 1323 K which enhanced heavy metals immobilization, decreasing their volatile fractions as well as leaching concentrations. Particle agglomeration hardly affected the leaching behavior of heavy metals. However, it suppressed the leachable-CaCrO4 formation and lowered Cr leaching concentration.

CO2 co-gasification of lower sulphur petroleum coke and sugar cane bagasse via TG–FTIR analysis technique

This study investigates the non-isothermal mechanism and kinetic behaviour of gasification of a lower sulphur petroleum coke, sugar cane bagasse and blends under carbon dioxide atmosphere conditions using the thermogravimetric analyser (TGA). The gas products were measured online with coupled Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The achieved results explored that the sugar cane bagasse and blend gasification happened in two steps: at (<500 °C) the volatiles are released, and at (>700 °C) char gasification occurred, whereas the lower sulphur petroleum coke presented only one char gasification stage at (>800 °C). Significant interactions were observed in the whole process. Some solid-state mechanisms were studied by the Coats-Redfern method in order to observe the mechanisms responsible for the gasification of samples. The results show that the chemical first order reaction is the best responsible mechanism for whole process. The main released gases are CO2, CO, CH4, HCOOH, C6H5OH and CH3COOH.

The fate of sulfur during rapid pyrolysis of scrap tires

The fate of sulfur during rapid pyrolysis of scrap tires at temperatures from 673 to 1073K was investigated. Sulfur was predominant in the forms of thiophenic and inorganic sulfides in raw scrap tires. In the pyrolysis process, sulfur in organic forms was unstable and decomposed, leading to the sulfur release into tar and gases. At 673 and 773K, a considerable amount of sulfur was distributed in tar. Temperature increasing from 773 to 973K promoted tar decomposition and facilitated sulfur release into gases. At 1073K, the interactions between volatiles and char stimulated the formation of high-molecular-weight sulfur-containing compounds. After pyrolysis, almost half of the total content of sulfur in raw scrap tires still remained in the char and was mostly in the form of sulfides. Moreover, at temperatures higher than 873K, part of sulfur in the char was immobilized in the sulfates. In the pyrolysis gases, H2S was the main sulfur-containing gas. Increasing temperature stimulated the decomposition of organic polymers in scrap tires and more H2S was formed. Besides H2S, other sulfur-containing gases such as CH3SH, COS and SO2 were produced during the rapid pyrolysis of scrap tires.