Pyrolysis treatment of waste tire powder in a capacitively coupled RF plasma reactor

Abstract

A capacitively coupled radio-frequency (RF) plasma reactor was tested mainly for the purpose of solid waste treatment. It was found that using a RF input power between 1600 and 2000 W and a reactor pressure between 3000 and 8000 Pa (absolute pressure), a reactive plasma environment with a gas temperature between 1200 and 1800 K can be reached in this lab scale reactor. Under these conditions, pyrolysis of tire powder gave two product streams: a combustible gas and a pyrolytic char. The major components of the gas product are H 2, CO, CH 4, and CO 2 The physical properties (surface area, porosity, and particle morphology) as well as chemical properties (elemental composition, heating value, and surface functional groups) of the pyrolytic char has also been examined.