A study of the thermal degradation of six typical municipal waste components in CO2 and N2 atmospheres using TGA-FTIR

Abstract

Thermal degradation of six typical municipal solid waste (MSW) components (tire rubber (TR), recycled polyvinyl chloride pellets (PVC), wood sawdust (WS), paper mixture (PM), kitchen waste (KW) and textile (TE)) in CO2 and N2 atmospheres is studied by using a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) combined with Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer. Below 600°C, CO2 behaves as an inert atmosphere and samples display similar weight loss behavior in both atmospheres. In this temperature range, the gas species and variations of FTIR absorbance depend on the waste composition rather than atmosphere type. Most of gases display identical evolution trends in both N2 and CO2, and the experience for pyrolysis in N2 can also be used for pyrolysis in CO2, and simply replacement of N2 by CO2 can’t improve the pyrolysis performance. Above 600°C, atmosphere changes not only the location of the DTG peak but also its formation mechanism, and CO2 behaves as a reaction atmosphere. In the later thermal degradation, the growth rate of CO absorbance in CO2 is significantly faster than in N2, indicating waste pyrolysis in CO2 can increased the syngas production at higher temperatures.