Co-Pyrolysis of Sewage Sludge, Two-Component Special Municipal Waste and Plastic Waste

Abstract

In this study, the co-pyrolysis of sewage sludge (SS), two-component special municipal waste (SMW) and plastic waste (Plastic) was studied using thermogravimetric equipment and a scaled-up tubular reactor. During the experiments, the effects of the raw material composition and pyrolysis temperature on the decomposition processes, the product yields and compositions were investigated. It was found that co-pyrolysis was a series of complex reactions and resulted in more volatile and lower residue yield than the pyrolysis of the individual raw materials. In some cases (e.g., 25%SMW + 75%Plastic, 25%SS + 75%Plastic, 50%SS + 50%Plastic blends), it also caused a higher synthesis gas yield and H2/CO ratio. During the thermogravimetric analysis, the beneficial effects occurred at lower temperatures, but in the scaled-up experiments, these effects only prevailed at 900 °C as a result of the larger amount of raw materials and the worse heat transfer. The produced gases can be characterized by a lower heating value of 17.3–35 MJ/Nm3. Therefore, they can be used for energetic purposes; however, before chemical use, further quality improvement is needed due to the lower H2/CO ratios.