Interactive effect of the sorted components of solid recovered fuel manufactured from municipal solid waste by thermogravimetric and kinetic analysis

Abstract

Solid recovered fuel (SRF) has the characteristics of high calorific value and low chlorine and mercury content. The thermal decomposition of SRF collected from a municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration power plant in Hangzhou was investigated in this study. The study exhibits far-reaching significance for the design and commercial operation of SRF pyrolysis facilities and circulating fluidized bed (CFB) power plants. The pyrolysis behavior of SRF and its sorted components was evaluated by thermogravimetric analysis (TG). Five heating rates of 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 °C·min−1 were conducted to analyze the effect of heating rate. The interactive effect of the sorted components was discussed by comparing the experimental and theoretical curves. Furthermore, the kinetic parameters were determined by using the Coats-Redfern (CR), Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose (KAS) and Flynn–Wall–Ozawa (FWO) methods. The activation energies of SRF and its sorted components in the pyrolysis process were obtained. The main reaction stages of the SRF and its sorted components were described by different mechanism functions. However, it was found that the KAS and FWO methods were not applicable for SRF according to the comparison results. The results provide useful information for the design and commercial operation of SRF pyrolysis facilities and CFB power plants.