Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Py-GC/MS Study on Tar Formation Characteristics of MSW Key Component Pyrolysis

  • Original paper
  • Published:
Waste and Biomass Valorization Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Tar derived from municipal solid waste (MSW) will block and foul process equipment. To better understand its formation mechanism during the pyrolysis process, key MSW components including polyethylene (PE), paper pulp, and bamboo (chopsticks) were selected and analytical pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry investigations were performed to examine their tar formation characteristics. Increasing the heating rate had no impact on the composition of pyrolysis product from bamboo, paper pulp, and PE pyrolysis, excluding the naphthalene generated from bamboo. Its content rose as the heating rate increased. Increasing the final temperature could reduce the total yield of tar. However, some compounds derived from bamboo, such as naphthalene, would increase as the final temperature rose. The tar chemical composition from paper pulp pyrolysis would get changed and the contents of some compounds, such as styrene and naphthalene, from PE pyrolysis would rise as the final temperature ascended. This work described here favors us control the tar production in the MSW pyrolysis process.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Malkow, T.: Novel and innovative pyrolysis and gasification technologies for energy efficient and environmentally sound MSW disposal. Waste Manage. 4(1), 53–79 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Chen, D.Z., Yin, L.J., Wang, H., He, P.J.: Pyrolysis technologies for municipal solid waste: a review. Waste Manage. 34(12), 2466–2486 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Zhou, H., Long, Y.Q., Meng, A.H., Li, Q.H., Zhang, Y.G.: The pyrolysis simulation of five biomass species by hemi-cellulose, cellulose and lignin based on thermogravimetric curves. Thermochim. Acta 566, 36–43 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Ren, Q.Q., Zhao, C.S., Wu, X., Liang, C., Cheng, X.P., Shen, J.Z., Tang, G.Y., Wang, Z.: TG-FTIR study on co-pyrolysis of municipal solid waste with biomass. Bioresour. Technol. 100(17), 4054–4057 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Zhou, H., Meng, A.H., Long, Y.Q., Li, Q.H., Zhang, Y.G.: Interactions of municipal solid waste components during pyrolysis: a TG-FTIR study. J. Anal. Appl. Pyrol. 108, 19–25 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. del Río, J.C., Gutiérrez, A., Hernando, M., Landín, P., Romero, J., Martínez, A.T.: Determining the influence of eucalypt lignin composition on paper pulp yield using Py-GC/MS. J. Anal. Appl. Pyrol. 74(1–2), 110–115 (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  7. Maschio, G., Koufopanos, C., Lucchesi, A.: Pyrolysis, a promising route for biomass utilization. Bioresour. Technol. 42(3), 219–231 (1992)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Li, S.D., He, J.D., Yu, P.H., Cheung, M.K.: Thermal degradation of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) as studied by TG, TG-FTIR, and Py-GC/MS. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 89(6), 1530–1536 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Li, X.H., Meng, Y.Z., Zhu, Q., Tjong, S.C.: Thermal decomposition characteristics of poly(propylene carbonate) using TG/IR and Py-GC/MS techniques. Polym. Degrad. Stab. 81(1), 157–165 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Perng, L.H.: Thermal degradation mechanism of poly(ether imide) by stepwise Py-GC/MS. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 79(7), 1151–1161 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Perng, L.H.: Thermal decomposition characteristics of poly(phenylene sulfide) by stepwise Py-GC/MS and TG/MS techniques. Polym. Degrad. Stab. 69(3), 323–332 (2000)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Dizhbite, T., Telysheva, G., Dobele, G., Arshanitsa, A., Bikovens, O., Andersone, A., Kampars, V.: Py-GC/MS for characterization of non-hydrolyzed residues from bioethanol production from softwood. J. Anal. Appl. Pyrol. 90(2), 126–132 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Azeez, A.M., Meier, D., Odermatt, J., Willner, T.: Fast pyrolysis of African and European lignocellulosic biomasses using Py-GC/MS and fluidized bed reactor. Energy Fuels 24, 2078–2085 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Boateng, A.A., Mullen, C.A., McMahan, C.M., Whalen, M.C., Cornish, K.: Guayule (Parthenium argentatum) pyrolysis and analysis by PY-GC/MS. J. Anal. Appl. Pyrol. 87(1), 14–23 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Bridgeman, T.G., Darvell, L.I., Jones, J.M., Williams, P.T., Fahmi, R., Bridgwater, A.V., Barraclough, T., Shield, I., Yates, N., Thain, S.C., Donnison, I.S.: Influence of particle size on the analytical and chemical properties of two energy crops. Fuel 86(1–2), 60–72 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Cai, G.M., Yu, W.D.: Study on the thermal degradation of high performance fibers by TG/FTIR and Py-GC/MS. J. Anal. Appl. Pyrol. 104(2), 757–763 (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  17. Lou, R., Wu, S.B., Lv, G.J.: Effect of conditions on fast pyrolysis of bamboo lignin. J. Anal. Appl. Pyrol. 89(2), 191–196 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Shen, D.K., Gu, S., Luo, K.H., Wang, S.R., Fang, M.X.: The pyrolytic degradation of wood-derived lignin from pulping process. Bioresour. Technol. 101(15), 6136–6146 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Kirubakaran, V., Sivaramakrishnan, V., Nalini, R., Sekar, T., Premalatha, M., Subramanian, P.: A review on gasification of biomass. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 13(1), 168–175 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Zhang, B.P., Xiong, S.J., Xiao, B., Yu, D.K., Jia, X.Y.: Mechanism of wet sewage sludge pyrolysis in a tubular furnace. Int. J. Hydrogen Energy 36(1), 355–363 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Adrados, A., De Marco, I., Lopez-Urionabarrenechea, A., Solar, J., Caballero, B.: Avoiding tar formation in biocoke production from waste biomass. Biomass Bioenergy 74, 172–179 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Zhang, Y.L., Wu, W.G., Zhao, S.H., Long, Y.F., Luo, Y.H.: Experimental study on pyrolysis tar removal over rice straw char and inner pore structure evolution of char. Fuel Process. Technol. 134, 333–344 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Beneroso, D., Bermúdez, J.M., Arenillas, A., de la Peña, F., García, J.L., Prieto, M.A., Menéndez, J.A.: Oil fractions from the pyrolysis of diverse organic wastes: the different effects of conventional and microwave induced pyrolysis. J. Anal. Appl. Pyrol. 114, 256–264 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Blanco, P.H., Wu, C.F., Onwudili, J.A., Dupont, V., Williams, P.T.: Catalytic pyrolysis/gasification of refuse derived fuel for hydrogen production and tar reduction: influence of nickel to citric acid ratio using Ni/SiO2 catalysts. Waste Biomass Valorization 5(4), 625–636 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Zhou, H., Meng, A.H., Long, Y.Q., Li, Q.H., Zhang, Y.G.: An overview of characteristics of municipal solid waste fuel in China: physical, chemical composition and heating value. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 36, 107–122 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Luo, S.Y., Xiao, B., Hu, Z.Q., Liu, S.M.: Effect of particle size on pyrolysis of single-component municipal solid waste in fixed bed reactor. Int. J. Hydrogen Energy 35, 93–97 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Yang, H., Yan, R., Chen, H., Lee, D.H., Zheng, C.: Chracteristics of hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin pyrolysis. Fuel 86, 1781–1788 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Serrano, D.P., Aguado, J., Escola, J.M., Rodriguez, J.M., San Miguel, G.: An investigation into the catalytic cracking of LDPE using Py-GC/MS. J. Anal. Appl. Pyrol. 74(1–2), 370–378 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Jess, A.: Mechanisms and kinetics of thermal reactions of aromatic hydrocarbons from pyrolysis of solid fuels. Fuel 75(12), 1441–1448 (1996)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors appreciate the financial supports from Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai (No. 16ZR1422900) and Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (No. 13DZ2260900).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shanghai Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow and Heat Transfer in Power Engineering, School of Energy and Power Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, 516 Jungong Road, Shanghai, 200093, China

    Xiaoyuan Zheng, Zhi Ying & Bo Wang

  2. Shanghai Urban Construction Design and Research Institute, 3447 Dongfang Road, Shanghai, 200125, China

    Chong Chen

  3. State Key Laboratory of Clean Energy Utilization, Institute for Thermal Power Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China

    Yong Chi

Authors
  1. Xiaoyuan Zheng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Chong Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Zhi Ying
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Bo Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Yong Chi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xiaoyuan Zheng.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 25 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Zheng, X., Chen, C., Ying, Z. et al. Py-GC/MS Study on Tar Formation Characteristics of MSW Key Component Pyrolysis. Waste Biomass Valor 8, 313–319 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-016-9596-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-016-9596-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation