Abstract
The amount of solid waste generated annually is increasing around the world. Although the waste has a high calorific value, one major obstacle that may prevent it from becoming a feedstock for power applications is the existence of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which causes corrosion and emission issues after combustion due to its high chlorine content. Torrefaction is known to release hydrochloric acid; thus, it has been applied in this study for the reduction of chlorine from potential waste feedstocks. Fiber-plastic (60–40%) waste blends, with different chlorine content levels, as well as PVC were used in the current study. Torrefaction was conducted at 400 °C. Chlorine and heat content were measured. Experimental results showed that organically bonded chlorine was reduced during torrefaction as a function of mass loss. The chlorine removal efficiency was only dependent on temperature and residence time, not chlorine level. The heat content of the sample increased with mass loss up to a maximum of ~34 MJ/kg at ~45% mass loss. It was also observed that at ~30% mass loss, the organic chlorine content per unit heat content reduced by ~90%, while the heat content was ~32 MJ/kg, and ~90% energy was retained.
Highlights
Solid waste generation is increasing across the world, and this trend is growing as the population grows [1]
The results showed that doubling the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) content of municipal solid waste (MSW) would increase PCDD emissions during combustion by
Convergen Energy, LLC (CE) supplied the mixed solid waste used in this study, which was shredded to a 75–125 mm size
Summary
Solid waste generation is increasing across the world, and this trend is growing as the population grows [1]. Due to reasons like cost and poor quality of material, much of these wastes cannot be feasibly recycled and are instead landfilled [2]. 139 million tons of municipal solid waste in the year 2017 [3]. The practice of landfilling is known to cause significant environmental damage and negative health impact [4,5]. Landfilling is economically destructive by wasting a precious, energy-intensive resource. Following population and economic growth, global energy demand is expected to increase by 48% from 2012 to
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