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。     

叶黄素的热解产物分析

为研究叶黄素对卷烟燃吸品质的影响,分别在300、600、900℃和氮气、10%氧气 90%氮气、大气环境中进行了叶黄素热解试验,热解产物经固相微萃取后进行GC/MS分析,并用叶黄素进行了卷烟加香试验。结果表明:①在所试验的温度和氛围中,叶黄素的裂解产物主要是甲苯、对-二甲苯、1,2-二氢-1,1,6-三甲基-萘和2,7-二甲基萘等,另外还有少量的氧化异佛尔酮、巨豆三烯酮、醛和烯烃类物质等;②叶黄素裂解产物的种类和相对含量都随着裂解温度的变化而变化,而裂解氛围则影响不大;③添加叶黄素的卷烟烟气香气略增加,但其杂气、刺激性都明显增大,余味变差。因此,添加叶黄素不利于卷烟抽吸品质的提高。     

Natural draft and forced primary air combustion properties of a top-lit up-draft research furnace

Worldwide, over four million people die each year due to emissions from cookstoves. To address this problem, advanced cookstoves are being developed, with one system, called a top-lit up-draft (TLUD) gasifier stove, showing particular potential in reducing the production of harmful emissions. A novel research furnace analogy of a TLUD gasifier stove has been designed to study the TLUD combustion process. A commissioning procedure was established under natural draft and forced primary air conditions. A visual assessment was performed and the temperature and emissions profiles were recorded to identify the combustion phases. The efficiency was evaluated through the nominal combustion efficiency (NCE = CO₂/(CO₂ + CO)), which is very high in the migrating pyrolysis phase, averaging 0.9965 for the natural draft case. Forced primary air flows yield similar efficiencies. In the lighting phase and char gasification phase the NCE falls to 0.8404 and 0.6572 respectively in the natural draft case. When providing forced primary air flows, higher NCE values are achieved with higher air flows in the lighting phase, while with lower air flows in the char gasification phase. In the natural draft case high H₂ emissions are also found in the lighting and char gasification phases, the latter indicating incomplete pyrolysis. From the comparison of the natural draft with the forced draft configurations, it is evident that high efficiency and low emissions of incomplete combustion can only be achieved with high controllability of the air flow in the different phases of combustion.     

Slow and fast pyrolysis of Douglas-fir lignin: Importance of liquid-intermediate formation on the distribution of products

The formation of liquid intermediates and the distribution of products were studied under slow and fast pyrolysis conditions. Results indicate that monomers are formed from lignin oligomeric products during secondary reactions, rather than directly from the native lignin. Lignin from Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) wood was extracted using the milled wood enzyme lignin isolation method. Slow pyrolysis using a microscope with hot-stage captured the liquid formation (>150 °C), shrinking, swelling (foaming), and evaporation behavior of lignin intermediates. The activation energy (E_a) for 5–80% conversions was 213 kJ mol⁻¹, and the pre-exponential factor (log A) was 24.34. Fast pyrolysis tests in a wire mesh reactor were conducted (300–650 °C). The formation of the liquid intermediate was visualized with a fast speed camera (250 Hz), showing the existence of three well defined steps: formation of lignin liquid intermediates, foaming and liquid intermediate swelling, and evaporation and droplet shrinking. GC/MS and UV-Fluorescence of the mesh reactor condensate revealed lignin oligomer formation but no mono-phenols were seen. An increase in pyrolytic lignin yield was observed as temperature increased. The molar mass determined by ESI-MS was not affected by pyrolysis temperature. SEM of the char showed a smooth surface with holes, evidence of a liquid intermediate with foaming; bursting from these foams could be responsible for the removal of lignin oligomers. Py-GC/MS studies showed the highest yield of guaiacol compounds at 450–550 °C.     

Study on the nitrogen transformation during the primary pyrolysis of sewage sludge by Py-GC/MS and Py-FTIR

The nitrogen transformation with attention to the intermediates and NO_x precursors has been investigated during the primary pyrolysis of sewage sludge by using Pyrolyzer-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) and Pyrolyzer-Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (Py-FTIR). A three-stage process of nitrogen transformation during the sewage sludge pyrolysis was suggested. The decomposition of labile protein and inorganic ammonium salt mainly occurred in the first stage (<300 °C), giving rise to a small amount of NH₃. In the second stage (300–600 °C), the macromolecular protein firstly cracked into small molecular amine compounds, and then went through deamination process, contributed to a large release of NH₃. In the third stage (600–900 °C), the amine compounds converted into nitriles, and generated a large amount of HCN, while the formation of NH₃ slowed down accordingly.     

Energy recovery from microalgal biomass via enhanced thermo-chemical process

This work showed that microalgae having low lipid content has high potential for energy recovery via thermo-chemical processes. As an example, Microcystis aeruginosa (M. aeruginosa) was considered and tested. Specifically, this work verified that the growth rate of M. aeruginosa was extremely fast compared to other microalgae (as a factor of ∼10). Moreover, this work investigated the CO₂ co-feed impact on thermo-chemical processes (pyrolysis/gasification) using M. aeruginosa. Introducing CO₂ in the thermo-chemical process as reaction media or feedstock can enhance the efficiency of thermo-chemical processes by expediting the cracking capability of condensable hydrocarbons (tar). The generation of CO was enhanced as a factor of ∼2. Further generation of H₂ could be achieved in the presence of CO₂. Thus, utilizing CO₂ as reaction media or chemical feedstock can modify the end products into environmentally benign and desirable ones. The CO₂ co-feed impact on thermo-chemical processes with lingo-cellulosic biomass can be universally applied.