Comparative study of temperature-programmed pyrolysis and two-step fast pyrolysis of oily sludge

Abstract

Oily sludge (OS) is the main waste produced in the process of crude oil extraction, transportation, and refining. As a promising technology of OS treatment, pyrolysis can reduce pollutant emissions and fully recover resources. In this study, the pyrolysis characteristics and product quality of temperature-programmed pyrolysis (TPP) and two-step fast pyrolysis (TSFP) were investigated. For the TG analysis, the faster heating rate could promote the pyrolysis of OS and increase its weight loss rate. In TPP, the higher final pyrolysis temperature provided more energy, which made the CH bond and CC bond break, increased the gas yield and oil yield, and also increased the hydrogen component in the gas, but reduced the char yield. However, the lower final pyrolysis temperature could improve the calorific value of oil. In TSFP, the oil yield was mainly affected by the first step pyrolysis temperature (T1), and the oil yield was 30.9 % at T1 of 500 ℃. The gas yield was both affected by T1 and the second step pyrolysis temperature (T2), and the gas yield could reach a maximum of 32.5 % at 550 ℃ (T1) × 800 ℃ (T2), which was 46.9 % higher than that of TPP (700 ℃, 22.1 %). This was due to the fact that as the T2 rose, the macromolecular components broke down, promoting the generation of gas. In TSFP, the hydrogen component in the gas was the most at 500 ℃ (T1) × 800 ℃ (T2). Compared with TPP, the total calorific value of the available products (oil and hydrogen) could be increased by TSFP, which increased the energy utilization efficiency. This study is expected to provide a theoretical basis for the industrial application of TSFP.