THERMAL REGENERATION OF ACTIVATED CARBONS

The thermal regeneration of activated carbons loaded with p-nitrophenol (PNP) and other aromatic compounds was studied using a thermal balance. After pyrolysis of the adsorbates in nitrogen at 700°C, the residues were gasified with oxygen at 415 to 500°C or with steam at 840 to 920°C. Residues from PNP were several times more reactive to oxygen than the base carbons and also showed greater chemisorption of oxygen. For steam gasification, only small differences between spent and fresh carbons were found.     

Hollow porous carbon microspheres obtained by the pyrolysis of TiO2/poly(furfuryl alcohol) composite precursors

Disordered carbon materials with high porosity were prepared through the pyrolysis of TiO₂/poly(furfuryl alcohol) composites, obtained by the sol-gel method. The composites were prepared starting from titanium tetra-isopropoxide (TTIP) and furfuryl alcohol (FA) as precursors. Two different synthetic procedures for our composites were carried out, based on the addition of furfuryl alcohol (FA) before or after the TiO₂ nanoparticles formation. Also, different TTIP/FA ratio was tested. The hybrid materials obtained by both synthetic routes were pyrolyzed, under argon flow, at 900 °C producing novel TiO₂/carbon composites. All samples were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, DR-FTIR, Raman spectroscopy and TEM. Results indicated the effective FA polymerization on TiO₂ (anatase) nanoparticles, and polymer conversion to disordered carbon after the pyrolysis, simultaneously with TiO₂ anatase-rutile phase transition. The resulting TiO₂/carbon composites were treated with HF solution aiming the oxide dissolution, yielding an extremely porous carbon material as insoluble fraction. The morphology of these porous carbon materials is strongly dependent on the synthetic route adopted for the composite precursor, varying from carbon foam to highly ordered hollow microspheres.     

Breakthrough Technologies for the Biorefining of Organic Solid and Liquid Wastes

Organic solid and liquid wastes contain large amounts of energy, nutrients, and water, and should not be perceived as merely waste. Recycling, composting, and combustion of non-recyclables have been practiced for decades to capture the energy and values from municipal solid wastes. Treatment and disposal have been the primary management strategy for wastewater. As new technologies are emerging, alternative options for the utilization of both solid wastes and wastewater have become available. Considering the complexity of the chemical, physical, and biological properties of these wastes, multiple technologies may be required to maximize the energy and value recovery from the wastes. For this purpose, biorefining tends to be an appropriate approach to completely utilize the energy and value available in wastes. Research has demonstrated that non-recyclable waste materials and bio-solids can be converted into usable heat, electricity, fuel, and chemicals through a variety of processes, and the liquid waste streams have the potential to support crop and algae growth and provide other energy recovery and food production options. In this paper, we propose new biorefining schemes aimed at organic solid and liquid wastes from municipal sources, food and biological processing plants, and animal production facilities. Four new breakthrough technologies—namely, vacuum-assisted thermophilic anaerobic digestion, extended aquaponics, oily wastes to biodiesel via glycerolysis, and microwave-assisted thermochemical conversion—can be incorporated into the biorefining schemes, thereby enabling the complete utilization of those wastes for the production of chemicals, fertilizer, energy (biogas, syngas, biodiesel, and bio-oil), foods, and feeds, and resulting in clean water and a significant reduction in pollutant emissions.     

Potassium catalysis in the pyrolysis behaviour of short rotation willow coppice

Short rotation willow coppice (SRC) and a synthetic biomass, a mixture of the basic biomass components (cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin), have been investigated for the influence of potassium on their pyrolysis behaviours. The willow sample was pre-treated to remove salts and metals by hydrochloric acid, and this demineralised sample was impregnated with potassium. The same type of pre-treatment was applied to components of the synthetic biomass. Characterisation was performed using thermogravimetric analysis with measurement of products by means of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (TGA-FTIR) and pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (PY-GC-MS). A comparison of product distributions and kinetics are reported. While the general features of decomposition of SRC are described well by an additive behaviour of the individual components, there are some differences in the magnitude of the influence of potassium, and on the products produced. For both SRC and the synthetic biomass, TGA traces indicate catalytic promotion of both of the two-stages of biomass decomposition, and potassium can lower the average apparent first-order activation energy for pyrolysis by up to 50 kJ/mol. For both SRC and synthetic biomass the yields and distribution of pyrolysis products have been influenced by the presence of the catalyst. Potassium catalysed pyrolysis increases the char yields markedly and this is more pronounced for synthetic biomass than SRC. Gas evolution profiles during pyrolysis show the same general features for both SRC and synthetic biomass. Relative methane yields increase during the char formation stage of pyrolysis of the potassium doped samples. The evolution profiles of acetic acid and formaldehyde change, and these products are seen in lower relative amounts for both the demineralised samples. A greater variation in pyrolysis products is observed from the treated SRC samples compared to the different synthetic biomass samples. Furthermore, substituted phenols from lignin pyrolysis are more dominant in the pyrolysis profiles of the synthetic biomass than of the SRC, implying that the extracted lignins used in the synthetic biomass yield a greater fraction of monomeric type species than the lignocellulosic cell wall material of SRC. For both types of samples, PY-GS-MS analyses show that potassium has a significant influence on cellulose decomposition markers, not just on the formation of levoglucosan, but also other species from the non-catalysed mechanism, such as 3,4-dihydroxy-3-cyclobutene-1,2-dione.     

Pyrolysis and co-pyrolysis of lignite and plastic

The study firstly discusses the pyrolysis characteristics and kinetics by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and then investigates the pyrolysis of lignite and co-pyrolysis with plastic (polyethylene or polypropylene) in tube furnace. Meanwhile, the research focuses on the co-pyrolysis products under different mixing ratios as well as pyrolysis products at different testing temperatures and heating rates. The results show that higher final testing temperature and lower heating rate contribute to bond fission in lignite pyrolysis, resulting in less char product. In co-pyrolysis, lignite acts as hydrogen donor, and the yields of char and water rise with increasing amount of plastic in the mixture, while the yields of gas and tar decrease; and a little admixture of plastic will promote the production of gas and tar. Kinetic studies indicate that in temperature range of 530–600 °C, activation energies of lignite are higher than those of lignite/plastic blends, and as plastic mass ratio increases from 0% to 10%, samples need less energy to be decomposed during co-pyrolysis.     

乙烯装置裂解气分馏及冷却的模拟计算

对于含有众多复什碳氢化合物的裂解汽油、裂解柴油和裂解燃料油等宽馏分以及氢、轻烃、大量水分的裂解气，采用虚拟组分以减少组分总数、用惰性气体描述水在烃类中的相行为，以物流混合和闪蒸过程组成一个闪蒸平衡级，并以逐级闪蒸计算来描述乙烯装置的裂解气分馏塔。     

Heat recovery from hot blast furnace slag granulates by pyrolysis of printed circuit boards

Abstract

Heat recovery from hot blast furnace (BF) slag is difficult to achieve but has great potential to recover energy and thereby reduce CO₂ emissions. The objective of this work is to utilise the heat of hot BF slag granulates to generate combustible gas from printed circuit boards. The results showed that this is a possible process and that, after cleaning, the combustible gas could be injected into the BF as a fuel and reducing agent. The new process has advantages over the traditional process in energy saving and pollution emissions.     

小颗粒油页岩热裂解工艺及其影响因素

阐述了小颗粒油页岩热裂解机理,介绍了小颗粒油页岩热裂解液化技术的工艺流程。结合自制流化床结构和国内外相关文献,分析了小颗粒油页岩热裂解的影响因素,最终确定试验的主要影响因素为:反应温度、原料粒径和给料速率。     

麦草浆黑液中LCC组分及黑液热解处理研究

从麦草浆黑液中分离并鉴别LCC组分,指出麦草浆黑液LCC含量要比马尾松浆黑液高5.35倍,证实LCC是麦草浆黑液高粘度和低燃烧膨胀性的主要原因之一。采用原料高温蒸煮和黑液高温裂解的热处理工艺,可以使麦草浆黑液LCC含量降到拉近马尾松浆黑液的含量,粘度降低40%左右,VIE值提高3倍左右,但仍明显差于马尾松浆黑液。本文还比较了两种处理工艺的优劣。