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Co-combustion behaviors of municipal solid waste and low-rank coal semi-coke in air or oxygen/carbon dioxide atmospheres

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Abstract

Co-combustion characteristics and interactions of municipal solid waste (MSW) and low-rank coal semi-coke (LCSC) in O2/CO2 or air atmosphere are investigated by the thermogravimetric method, including analyses of thermodynamic, kinetic parameters and reaction mechanism function. Results indicated that addition of MSW and higher oxygen concentration improve the co-combustion performance of blends. There are three distinct peaks for co-combustion of blends in air atmosphere, while only two peaks in 30O2/70CO2 atmosphere. It indicates that the presence of CO2 in oxy-fuel atmosphere is conducive to semi-char burnout. Interactions of MSW and LCSC mainly occur between 260 °C and 650 °C, and the synergetic interaction is very obvious around the second peak region of combustion process. The average activation energies Ea show an upward trend with the increase in oxygen concentration, and the minimum value of Ea is obtained when the blend ratio of MSW is 50% which might be an optimal option for co-combustion of blends. Activation energy, enthalpy changes, Gibbs function and entropy changes for 50MSW50LCSC in 30O2/70CO2 atmosphere are 140.86 kJ mol−1, 138.33 kJ mol−1, 161.94 kJ mol−1 and − 41.44 J mol−1 K−1, respectively. In O2/CO2 atmospheres, F6 and F1 functions are more suitable to describe the starting and subsequent process of entail reaction. The results can provide a theoretical and practical guidance for the harmless disposal and resource utilization of MSW and LCSC.

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Abbreviations

A :

Pe-exponential factor (min−1)

A d :

Ash content of dry basis (−)

C d :

Carbon content of dry basis (−)

E :

Activation energy (kJ mol−1)

E a :

Average activation energy (kJ mol−1)

FCd :

Fixed carbon content of dry basis (-)

h :

Planck’s constant (J s−1)

H :

Enthalpy (kJ mol−1)

H d :

Hydrogen content of dry basis (−)

G :

Gibbs function (kJ mol−1)

k B :

Boltzmann constant (J K−1)

m 0 :

Intimal mass of sample (mg)

m t :

Mass of sample at any time (mg)

m ∞ :

Final mass of sample (mg)

M ar :

Moisture content of as-received basis (−)

N d :

Nitrogen content of dry basis (−)

O d :

Oxygen content of dry basis (−)

t :

Reaction time (min)

T :

Reaction temperature (K/°C)

T i :

Ignition temperature (°C)

T f :

Burnout temperature (°C)

T max :

Temperature corresponding to maximum mass loss rate (°C)

R :

Universal gas constant (J mol−1 K−1)

r max :

Maximum mass loss rate (% min−1)

r mean :

Mean mass loss rate (% min−1)

R w :

Combustion stability index (% min−1 °C−2)

S :

Entropy (J mol−1 K−1)

S d :

Sulfur content of dry basis (−)

V d :

Volatile content of dry basis (−)

α :

Conversion rate (−)

β :

Heating rate (°C min−1)

a:

Average

pr:

Products

re:

Reactants

ANN:

Artificial neural networks

CCI:

Comprehensive combustion index

DAEM:

Distributed activation energy model

FWO:

Flynn–Wall–Ozawa

LCSC:

Low-rank coal semi-coke

MSW:

Municipal solid waste

TGA:

Thermogravimetric analysis

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge financial supports from the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2018YJS132), the National Key R&D Program of China, Grant No. 2017YFB0602003, and the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Grant No. 51576014.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Combustion and Thermal Systems, School of Mechanical, Electronic and Control Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, 100044, People’s Republic of China

    Guangchao Ding, Boshu He, Huifeng Yao, Yang Cao, Liangbin Su & Zhipeng Duan

  2. School of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Haibin College of Beijing Jiaotong University, Huanghua, 061199, Hebei Province, People’s Republic of China

    Boshu He

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  1. Guangchao Ding
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Ding, G., He, B., Yao, H. et al. Co-combustion behaviors of municipal solid waste and low-rank coal semi-coke in air or oxygen/carbon dioxide atmospheres. J Therm Anal Calorim 143, 619–635 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-019-09170-z

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