Abstract
Biomass co-firing in coal-fired power plants has been widely accepted to reduce the environmental burden. In this study, food waste (FW) and sewage sludge (SS), which are the main types of municipal organic waste, were selected as solid refuse fuel (SRF). To compensate for the limitations of FW and SS, a mixture of FW and SS with varying ratios was processed using pyrolysis and desalination. The fuel properties such as the calorific value, chlorine content, alkali and alkaline earth metallic species (AAEMs) content, and heavy metal content were determined. The calorific values of all biochars were greater than 12.6 MJ/kg, which satisfies the national threshold of Bio-SRF in Korea. Chlorine and AAEMs contents exhibited clear trends for the FW ratio and pyrolysis temperature. Increasing concentrations of heavy metals were observed with increasing SS ratio and pyrolysis temperature. These results provide important insights into the practical application of municipal waste-based biochar in coal-fired plants, as well as the influence of mixing ratio and pyrolysis temperature.
Highlights
Thermoelectric coal-burning plants account for 38% of global primary energy consumption [1]
Among the various types of biomass, this study focuses on municipal organic waste, i.e., food waste (FW) and sewage sludge (SS)
Considering that the calorific value is the most critical factor of the fuel, solid recovered fuel (SRF) with a higher proportion of FW is desirable for the practical operation of a coal-fired plant
Summary
Thermoelectric coal-burning plants account for 38% of global primary energy consumption [1]. Coal combustion is a major source of energy; it causes air pollution with the emission of significant amounts of CO2. To alleviate air pollution from thermoelectric plants, the co-combustion of biomass and coal has been proposed [3,4]. The application of SRF in thermoelectric plants helps curtail reliance on coal and its negative environmental impacts. It promotes the efficient management of organic waste as it does not require additional energy for treatment and can be used as a renewable energy resource [3,5]. The application of biochar with coal reduces greenhouse gas emissions because biomass is considered to be carbon neutral. High chlorine, alkali, and alkali earth metal (AAEM) contents may lead to slagging and fouling issues [8]
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