Dezhen Chen

Pyrolysis technologies for municipal solid waste: A review

Pyrolysis has been examined as an attractive alternative to incineration for municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal that allows energy and resource recovery; however, it has seldom been applied independently with the output of pyrolysis products as end products. This review addresses the state-of-the-art of MSW pyrolysis in regards to its technologies and reactors, products and environmental impacts. In this review, first, the influence of important operating parameters such as final temperature, heating rate (HR) and residence time in the reaction zone on the pyrolysis behaviours and products is reviewed; then the pyrolysis technologies and reactors adopted in literatures and scale-up plants are evaluated. Third, the yields and main properties of the pyrolytic products from individual MSW components, refuse-derived fuel (RDF) made from MSW, and MSW are summarised. In the fourth section, in addition to emissions from pyrolysis processes, such as HCl, SO2 and NH3, contaminants in the products, including PCDD/F and heavy metals, are also reviewed, and available measures for improving the environmental impacts of pyrolysis are surveyed. It can be concluded that the single pyrolysis process is an effective waste-to-energy convertor but is not a guaranteed clean solution for MSW disposal. Based on this information, the prospects of applying pyrolysis technologies to dealing with MSW are evaluated and suggested.

Reprint of: pyrolysis technologies for municipal solid waste: A review

Pyrolysis has been examined as an attractive alternative to incineration for municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal that allows energy and resource recovery; however, it has seldom been applied independently with the output of pyrolysis products as end products. This review addresses the state-of-the-art of MSW pyrolysis in regards to its technologies and reactors, products and environmental impacts. In this review, first, the influence of important operating parameters such as final temperature, heating rate (HR) and residence time in the reaction zone on the pyrolysis behaviours and products is reviewed; then the pyrolysis technologies and reactors adopted in literatures and scale-up plants are evaluated. Third, the yields and main properties of the pyrolytic products from individual MSW components, refuse-derived fuel (RDF) made from MSW, and MSW are summarised. In the fourth section, in addition to emissions from pyrolysis processes, such as HCl, SO2 and NH3, contaminants in the products, including PCDD/F and heavy metals, are also reviewed, and available measures for improving the environmental impacts of pyrolysis are surveyed. It can be concluded that the single pyrolysis process is an effective waste-to-energy convertor but is not a guaranteed clean solution for MSW disposal. Based on this information, the prospects of applying pyrolysis technologies to dealing with MSW are evaluated and suggested.

High efficiency chlorine removal from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pyrolysis with a gas–liquid fluidized bed reactor

In this research a gas-liquid fluidized bed reactor was developed for removing chlorine (Cl) from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) to favor its pyrolysis treatment. In order to efficiently remove Cl within a limited time before extensive generation of hydrocarbon products, the gas-liquid fluidized bed reactor was running at 280-320 °C, where hot N2 was used as fluidizing gas to fluidize the molten polymer, letting the molten polymer contact well with N2 to release Cl in form of HCl. Experimental results showed that dechlorination efficiency is mainly temperature dependent and 300 °C is a proper reaction temperature for efficient dechlorination within a limited time duration and for prevention of extensive pyrolysis; under this temperature 99.5% of Cl removal efficiency can be obtained within reaction time around 1 min after melting is completed as the flow rate of N2 gas was set around 0.47-0.85 Nm(3) kg(-1) for the molten PVC. Larger N2 flow rate and additives in PVC would enhance HCl release but did not change the final dechlorination efficiency; and excessive N2 flow rate should be avoided for prevention of polymer entrainment. HCl is emitted from PVC granules or scraps at the mean time they started to melt and the melting stage should be taken into consideration when design the gas-liquid fluidized bed reactor for dechlorination.

Reforming sewage sludge pyrolysis volatile with Fe-embedded char: Minimization of liquid product yield

Obtaining high quality syngas from sewage sludge (SS) means transferring a low-grade SS into a high-grade fuel or raw materials for chemical products. In this study, Fe is added to SS in form of Fe2(SO4)3 to produce an effective and self-sufficient catalyst in order to obtain more syngas and minimize liquid products from SS pyrolysis. The Fe-embedded sewage sludge chars (SSCs) were used as catalysts for volatile reforming at 600°C. It has been found that the gas yield increases from 15.9 to 35.8wt% of the SS and that of liquids decreases from 31.9 to 10.2wt% after volatile reforming with Fe-embedded SSC when Fe was added equal to 7 % in the dried SS. In addition, the content of nitrogen-containing compounds in the oily products decreased. After reforming with Fe-embedded SSC, the molar fractions of syngas combustible components, including H2, CH4 and CO, increase, and the higher heating value of the syngas increased to 17.0MJ/Nm3 from the original 12.5MJ/Nm3 obtained from SS pyrolysis at 550°C. Moreover, the volatile reforming seems to reduce the level of some important syngas pollutants, like H2S, HCl and HCN, even though it was also observed an increase of the contents of SO2, NH3, NO2, HCNO and N2O.

Pyrolysis of the mixture of MSWI fly ash and sewage sludge for co-disposal: Effect of ferrous/ferric sulfate additives

Co-pyrolysis with sewage sludge was proved to be an efficient pre-treatment for sanitary landfill of municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) fly ash (FA). In this study, to improve the stabilization effect of heavy metals, mixed ferrous/ferric sulfate was added into the FA/SS mixture before pyrolysis. To examine the feasibility of the landfill of co-pyrolysis char, toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (HJ/T300) was conducted. In addition, physio-chemical characteristics of char were also tested to explain the stability of heavy metals, including the speciation, mineralogical composition and the morphological features of them. The results indicated that within the range that the obtained char could meet the standard for landfill (GB16889-2008), the appropriate addition of mixed ferrous/ferric sulfates benefit to raising the FA ratio in the FA/SS mixture. The maximum ratio of 67 wt% is achieved when the additive was 1.5 wt% of dried SS (based on iron element) and the pyrolysis temperature was 500 °C.