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In-situ catalytic decomposition of emitted ammonia from municipal solid waste gasification by Ni–M bimetallic catalysts supported on sewage sludge-derived biochar

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Abstract

Gasification technology can effectively realize energy recovery from municipal solid waste (MSW) to reduce its negative impact on the environment. However, ammonia, as a pollutant derived from MSW gasification, needs to be treated because its emission is considered harmful to mankind. This work aims to decompose the NH3 pollutant from MSW gasification by an in-situ catalytic method. The MSW sample is composed of rice, paper, polystyrene granules, rubber gloves, textile and wood chips. Ni–M (M=Co, Fe, Zn) bimetallic catalysts supported on sewage sludge-derived biochar (SSC) were prepared by co-impregnation method and further characterized by X-ray diffraction, N2 isothermal adsorption, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and NH3 temperature programmed desorption. Prior to the experiments, the catalysts were first homogeneously mixed with the MSW sample, and then in-situ catalytic tests were conducted in a horizontal fixed-bed reactor. The effect of the second metal (Co, Fe, Zn) on the catalytic performance was compared to screen the best Ni-M dual. It was found that the Ni–Co/SSC catalyst had the best activity toward NH3 decomposition, whose decomposition rate reached 40.21% at 650 °C. The best catalytic performance of Ni–Co/SSC can be explained by its smaller Ni particle size that facilitates the dispersion of active sites as well as the addition of Co reducing the energy barrier for the associative decomposition of NH species during the NH3 decomposition process. Besides, the activity of Ni–Co/SSC increased from 450 °C to 700 °C as the NH3 decomposition reaction was endothermic.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2019YFC1906803) and Key R&D Program of Jiangsu Province (No. BE2021701).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Energy Thermal Conversion and Control of Ministry of Education, School of Energy and Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China

    Xueyu Ding, Yaji Huang, Xinxin Dong, Jiaqi Zhao, Mengzhu Yu, Xinqi Tian, Jinlei Li, Xuewei Zhang, Yuxin Li & Zekun Wei

  2. Department of Transdisciplinary Science and Engineering, School of Environment and Society, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 2268503, Japan

    Mengzhu Yu

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  1. Xueyu Ding
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Ding, X., Huang, Y., Dong, X. et al. In-situ catalytic decomposition of emitted ammonia from municipal solid waste gasification by Ni–M bimetallic catalysts supported on sewage sludge-derived biochar. Waste Dispos. Sustain. Energy 5, 113–124 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42768-022-00124-0

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