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Anaerobic digestion combined pyrolysis for paper mill sludge disposal and its influence on char characteristics

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Abstract

The disposal of paper mill sludge through anaerobic digestion (AD) combined pyrolysis was investigated. Two paper mill sludge samples, both with very low lower heating values (LHV) were adopted to compare the energy balance change in the disposal process; and the influence of AD step on the characteristics of chars, including their LHVs, specific area, heavy metal stabilisation, and so on was also studied. The experimental results showed that the biogas (methane) generated from AD step can help to improve energy balance in the pyrolysis processes. As a result, the energy balance for paper mill sludge pyrolysis disposal changed from being in deficit to in surplus when AD step was combined for the sludge of relatively low LHV; or the energy surplus increased. Both the micropore surface area and the LHV of chars decreased. The nutrient elements like P and K in the sludges were partially lost into the AD liquids. But the heavy metals in the chars from the digested sludges were found to be similarly stable to those from the raw sludges when subject to leaching. In general AD combined pyrolysis is proved to be a valid method to dispose paper mill sludge with very low LHV.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the China National Hi-Tech Program Project (Grant No. 2012AA063504).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Thermal and Environmental Engineering Institute, Tongji University, Shanghai, 201804, China

    Xue-Ding Song, De-Zhen Chen & Jian Zhang

  2. National Engineering Research Centre for Urban Pollution Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China

    Xiao-Hu Dai

  3. China Haisum Engineering Co., Ltd, Shanghai, 200031, China

    Yong-Yi Qi

  4. Shanghai Environmental Sanitation Engineering Design Institute, Shanghai, 200232, China

    Xue-Ding Song

Authors
  1. Xue-Ding Song
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  2. De-Zhen Chen
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Correspondence to De-Zhen Chen.

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Song, XD., Chen, DZ., Zhang, J. et al. Anaerobic digestion combined pyrolysis for paper mill sludge disposal and its influence on char characteristics. J Mater Cycles Waste Manag 19, 332–341 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-015-0428-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-015-0428-1

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