Panagiotis Evangelopoulos

Material and Energy Recovery from Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment: Status, Challenges, and Opportunities

Material and energy recovery from waste of electrical and electronic equipment status, challenges, and opportunities

Investigation on the low-temperature pyrolysis of automotive shredder residue (ASR) for energy recovery and metal recycling

The automotive shredder residue (ASR) or shredder light fraction (SLF) is the remaining fraction from the metal recovery of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs). While processes for metal recovery from ELVs are well developed, the similar process for ASR remains a challenge. In this work, low-temperature pyrolysis of the ASR fraction was investigated under the assumption that a low temperature and inert environment would enhance the metal recovery, i.e. the metals would not be further oxidised from their original state and the organic material could be separated from the metals in the form of volatiles and char. Pyrolysis experiments were performed in a tube reactor operating at 300, 400 and 500 °C. The gas and oil obtained by pyrolysis were analysed by micro-GC (micro-Gas Chromatography) and GC/MS (Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry), respectively. It was found that the gas produced contained a high amount of CO2, limiting the energy recovery from this fraction. The oil consisted of a high concentration of phenolic and aromatic compounds. The solid residue was crushed and fractionated into different particle sizes for further characterization. The pyrolysis temperature of 300 °C was found to be insufficient for metal liberation, while the char was easier to crush at tested temperature of 400 and 500 °C. The intermediate temperature of 400 °C is then suggested for the process to keep the energy consumption low.

Reduction of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in plastics from waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) by solvent extraction and the influence on their thermal decomposition

Consumption of electronics increases due to modern societys growing needs, which leads to increasing generation of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). Recycling of WEEE has been a global concern during the last few decades because of the toxic compounds that are produced during recycling. Different recycling techniques have been adapted on a commercial scale in order to overcome this issue, but the recycling of WEEE still lacks the technology to treat different kinds of feedstocks and to maximise the recycling rates. Pyrolysis is an alternative that has not been commercialised yet. One of the challenges for the implementation of this technology is the toxic brominated organic compounds that can be found in the pyrolysis oils. In this study, tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), one of the major flame retardants, is reduced in three different WEEE fractions through solvent extraction as a treatment prior to pyrolysis. Two solvents have been experimentally investigated: isopropanol and toluene, the latter of which can be derived from pyrolysis oil. The results indicate that TBBPA was extracted during pre-treatment. Moreover, the total bromine content of WEEE material was reduced after the treatment with a maximum reduction of 36.5%. The pyrolysis experiments indicate that reduction of several brominated organic compounds was achieved in almost all the tested cases, and two brominated compounds (2,4,6-tribromophenol and 2,5-Dibromobenzo(b)thiophene) reached complete removal. Also, the thermal decomposition behaviour of the raw samples and the treated was investigated, showing that the reduction of TBBPA influences the decomposition by shifting the starting decomposition temperature.

Two-Step Pyrolysis of Biomass to Enhance the Chemical Stability of Pyrolytic Liquids

Aging of pyrolytic liquid during storage changes its chemical and physical properties. The reason for aging is the chemical instability of the liquid, which is not at thermodynamic equilibrium when ...