Influence of sugarcane bagasse addition in co-pyrolysis with sewage sludge on the thermogravimetric characteristics and study of kinetic

Abstract

To evaluate the influence of sugarcane bagasse in co-pyrolysis with sewage sludge, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) in the presence of argon was studied. Pyrolysis experiments were carried out for sewage sludge (SS), sugarcane bagasse (SCB), and SS/SCB mixtures (1:1 mass ratio) in the temperature range of 30–800 °C at a heating rate of 10 °C per minute. Kinetic analysis was determined by using the Arrhenius equation and showed a change in activation energy, i.e., 27–52 kJ/mol, 29–46 kJ/mol, and 20–32 kJ/mol in the three stages of temperature ranges for SS, SCB and those for SS/SCB mixtures, respectively. The behavior of material degradation is attributed to this variation of activation energy. In contrast to pyrolysis of only-SS, co-pyrolysis mixtures (SS/SCB) offer improvement in the highest rate of degradation by 55%, the shift of peak temperature to lower value by 2–13%, reduced quantity of residue left behind by 56%, and alteration in activation energy by −60 to +36% suggest a synergism upon addition of SCB in SS.