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Study on the co-combustion process and mercury emission characteristics of sewage sludge-coal slime coupled fuel

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Abstract

To realize the clean and efficient resource utilization of sewage sludge (SS) and coal slime (CS), single-component and coupled fuels were analyzed. The micro-characteristics of combustion products were analyzed using multiple characterization means. The structure–activity relationship between the physicochemical properties and the mercury emission characteristics of SS and CS during the complex and changeable co-combustion process was established. The influence of coupling multiparameter conditions on the mercury emission process was revealed along with the combustion characteristics and evolution process using a distributed activation energy model. The results showed that α-HgS, HgSO4 and HgO with α-type hexagonal structures are the main forms of inorganic mercury compounds contained in SS and CS. The pyrolysis and combustion process of the sample can be divided into three stages. In the SS combustion process, the activation energy increases first and then decreases with increasing conversion rate α, and the activation energy of CS shows a U shaped trend distribution. For the influence of O2 on the combustion and mercury emission process, a critical concentration exists between O2 concentrations of 5% and 7%, which dominates the pyrolysis and heterogeneous combustion of carbonaceous substances and volatiles. When the temperature is above 750 °C, the Boudouard gasification reaction occurs directly between CO2 and the sample in the semicoke state, promoting combustion and mercury emission processes. Due to the strong interaction between the SS and CS, the mercury emission during the co-combustion process of the coupled fuel is inhibited and promoted at 400–500 °C and 500–600 °C, respectively. The iron mineral components and fixed carbon in the sample play a catalytic role during the decomposition process of mercury-containing compounds that are difficult to decompose.

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Data availability

The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. U1810126), National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. U1910214), Project (SKLD21KM16) supported by State Key Laboratory of Power System and Generation Equipment, Fundamental Research Program of Shanxi Province (No. 20210302124449), and Shanxi Province Science and Technology Innovation Project of Colleges and Universities (No. 2020L0073).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Electrical and Power Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, No.79 West Street Yingze, Taiyuan, Shanxi, 030024, People’s Republic of China

    Li Jia, Peng Cheng, Yan-lin Wang, Shi-hu Chen, Chen-xing Wang, Bao-guo Fan & Yan Jin

  2. College of Economics and Management, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, 030024, People’s Republic of China

    Yue Yu

  3. Key Laboratory of Coal Science and Technology of Ministry of Education and Shanxi Province, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, 030024, People’s Republic of China

    Jian-cheng Wang

  4. Taiyuan Boiler Group CO., LTD, Taiyuan, 030024, People’s Republic of China

    Jian-chun Zhang

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  1. Li Jia
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Jia, L., Cheng, P., Yu, Y. et al. Study on the co-combustion process and mercury emission characteristics of sewage sludge-coal slime coupled fuel. J Mater Cycles Waste Manag 25, 1369–1389 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-023-01612-z

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