Mechanisms of aliphatic hydrocarbon formation during co-pyrolysis of coal and cotton stalk

Pyrolysis experiments were carried out in a tubular furnace. The characteristics of pyrolysis tar were analyzed by GC/MS. The results indicated that the aliphatic hydrocarbon yield derived from co-pyrolysis tar of cotton stalk and Shenmu coal was obviously higher than that of Shenmu coal pyrolysis under optimum condition. Moreover, microcrystalline cellulose was selected as a model compound and the copyrolysis tar of microcrystalline cellulose and Shenmu coal was analyzed for comparison. Base on the experimental results, it was indicated that the alkyl radicals generated from pyrolysis were converted to aliphatic hydrocarbons by radical reactions. Furthermore, the mechanisms of aliphatic hydrocarbon formation were discussed during co-pyrolysis of cotton stalk and Shenmu coal.     

NOx and N2O precursors (NH3 and HCN) from biomass pyrolysis: Co-pyrolysis of amino acids and cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin

Nitrogen in biomass is mainly in forms of proteins (amino acids). Glycine, glutamic acid, aspartic acid, leucine, phenylalanine and proline are the major amino acids in agricultural straw. The six amino acids were pyrolyzed individually at 800 °C in a tubular reactor in an argon atmosphere. Each amino acid sample was then pyrolyzed individually with cellulose, hemicellulose or lignin with 1:1 mixing ratio by weight under the same condition. The emissions of HCN and NH₃ were detected with a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer. The extent of interaction between the amino acids with cellulose, hemicellulose or lignin was determined by comparing the yields of HCN and NH₃ from co-pyrolysis with those from single amino acid pyrolysis under the same condition. The results indicate that the structure of the amino acid has a significant effect on the nitrogen transformation during pyrolysis. The mixtures undergo solid-state decomposition reactions during co-pyrolysis. The extent of interaction between the amino acids with cellulose, hemicellulose or lignin depends on the amino acid types and the components in biomass. Although single proline and leucine form no char, they give a significant amount of nitrogen-containing char when co-pyrolyzed with cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. HCN and NH₃ yields and nitrogen conversion pathway from amino acid pyrolysis are influenced by cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin.     

Co-pyrolysis of biomass and waste plastics for production of chemicals and liquid fuel: A review on the role of plastics and catalyst types

The increasing global fuel consumption and growing environmental concerns are the impetuses to explore alternative energy that is clean and renewable for fuel production. Converting biomass and plastic waste into high-value fuel and chemicals via co-pyrolysis technique may provide a sustainable remediation to this problem. This review critically discussed the influence of various types of plastic wastes as co-reactant in co-pyrolysis with biomass on the product distribution, synergistic effect, and quality of bio-oil. The outcome of this review revealed that the addition of plastic enhanced the yield and quality of bio-oil and inhibited the production of oxygenated compound and coke formation. Next, the critical role of zeolite-based catalyst (microporous, mesoporous, hierarchical, and metal modified zeolite) and low-cost mineral-based catalyst in upgrading the yield and quality of liquid fuel were compared and discussed. The characteristic, synthesis method, strength, and limitation of each catalyst in upgrading the products were summarized. Hierarchical zeolites can resolve the problems of mass transfer, and diffusion limitation of large molecules into active sites associated with conventional zeolite due to the combination of two levels of porosity. Finally, the potential challenges and future directions for this technique were also suggested.     

Low-temperature co-pyrolysis of a low-rank coal and biomass to prepare smokeless fuel briquettes

Smokeless fuel briquettes have been prepared with low-rank coal and biomass. These raw materials have been mixed in different ratios and have been pyrolysed at 600 °C with the aim to reduce both the volatile matter and the sulphur content, and to increase the high calorific value (HCV). The co-pyrolysis of coal and biomass has shown a synergetic effect. The biomass favours the release of hydrogen sulphide during the thermal treatment. This fact can be explained in terms of the hydrogen-donor character of the biomass. Moreover, the optimisation of the amount of binder and the influence of different types of biomass in the blend have been studied with respect to the mechanical properties of the briquettes (impact resistance, compression strength and abrasion). Briquettes prepared with sawdust (S) present better mechanical properties than those with olive stones (O) because of its fibrous texture.     

TG-FTIR法研究低变质煤共热解过程气体的析出规律

采用热重-红外联用技术（TG-FTIR）对比研究了陕北低变质粉煤（SJC）与重油（HS）、焦煤（JM）、液化残渣（DCLR）共热解过程中气相产物的析出特性。研究表明,随热解温度升高,SJC与HS,JM,DCLR的共热解过程均可分为三个阶段。第一阶段表现为原料表面吸附物的释放,第二阶段发生解聚和分解反应,随温度继续升高,第三阶段形成更为稳定的半焦。在热解第二阶段中均存在煤与添加剂之间的协同效应,SJC作为主要的供氢体,热解产生的氢自由基与HS,JM,DCLR热解产生的小分子自由基碎片之间发生相互作用生成焦油和煤气。SJC和SJC+DCLR在450 ℃附近的温度区间内热解反应进行的更加充分,大部分N元素转移到了焦油组分中。热解过程气相产物中H₂O和酚类物质、含N杂环物质及CO的析出伴随着热解的整个温度区间,SJC+JM和SJC+HS热解过程含N物质的转移主要集中在400~650 ℃区间,CH₄和脂肪烃类物质的析出最高峰出现在450 ℃附近,而SJC+DCLR和SJC则出现在550 ℃。JM,HS及DCLR的添加可促使焦油中芳香族化合物的析出,SJC+JM与SJC+HS热解过程芳香族物质大量析出的温度区间在400~550 ℃。该研究结果为低变质粉煤的清洁转化与提质分级新技术的研究开发提供理论依据,对低变质煤的增值利用具有重要的意义。     

聚丙烯和毛竹共热解的研究

在自制固定床反应器中,对聚丙烯和毛竹共热解进行研究,得到了反应气氛、热解温度、反应物配比、反应时间对共热解的影响规律。实验结果表明,由于毛竹与聚丙烯在热解过程中的相互影响,两者共热解时的液体收率和产物分布均与两者单独热解时不同,油相液体产物的辛烷值随毛竹加入量的增加而增大,在聚丙烯和毛竹的最佳配比下,两者共热解的协同作用最明显,不仅原料的转化率最大,而且所得液体产物的收率最高,H2气氛较之N2气氛更有利于油相产物的生成和毛竹中木质素成分的热解。本文条件下,获得最佳油相液体收率的条件为,聚丙烯/毛竹配比8∶2,热解温度520℃,反应时间4h,H2气氛,油相液体收率达53.9wt.%,辛烷值为77.3。     

Characterization of the liquid product recovered through pyrolysis of PMMA-ABS waste

Thermal decomposition of waste polymethylmethacrylate-acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (PMMA-ABS) blend has been carried out using analytical and lab-scale pyrolysis methods in order to identify the substantial components appearing in the liquid product. Additionally decomposition characteristics of the blend have been investigated regarding the possible interrelation between the two components during the pyrolysis. The interactions between PMMA and ABS seem to modify the decomposition characteristics of the ABS, resulting in a lower degradation temperature than that of pure ABS. Moreover the simultaneous decomposition results in recombination of the products yielding new volatile compounds. During batch pyrolysis relatively high amount of gas production was observed, that is in contradiction with the results obtained by analytical pyrolysis and the data found in the literature where pyrolysis of the PMMA as well as the ABS was reported to yield low amount of gas products. The liquid product retrieved from thermal decomposition has been analyzed with respect to the possible utilization as a propellant. Hence aside from the investigation of contained elements and compounds, determination of density, viscosity, research octane number (RON), calorific value, and gaseous emissions has been carried out as well. The relatively high yield (65 wt%), and outstanding compression tolerance (RON = 110.2) observed at the pyrolysis oil make it a feasible fuel admixture.     

Efficient reduction of NOx emissions from waste double-base propellant in co-pyrolysis with pine sawdust

Co-pyrolysis technology containing biomass offers remarkable advantages in reducing NO_x emissions economically and efficiently. In this work, it was innovatively introduced to solve the problem of excessive NO_x emission during the incineration of waste energetic materials (EMs). The kinetics and NO_x emission characteristics of waste double-base propellant (DP), pine sawdust (PS), and their mixtures with different ratios during pyrolysis were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis and fixed-bed experiments. The results showed that there was a significant interaction between DP and PS. Kinetic analysis by Friedman and Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose (KAS) methods demonstrated that the average activation energies of the mixtures with different ratios were smaller than that of DP, indicating that the addition of PS improved the reactivity of co-pyrolysis. In addition, the fixed-bed experiment determined that the lowest NO_x emission was achieved during DP pyrolysis alone at 900 ℃. Co-pyrolysis at this temperature was found to have synergistic effects of reduced NO_x emissions for different ratios of mixtures. The best synergistic effect was achieved at the mixing ratio of 60 wt% DP and 40 wt% PS, resulting in a 72.11 % reduction in actual NO_x emissions compared to the expected value. This study provides a new direction and powerful data support for the clean, efficient and economic treatment of waste EMs, especially for practical engineering strategies.