Pyrolytic product characteristics of biosludge from the wastewater treatment plant of a petrochemical industry

Abstract

Biosludge was produced from the wastewater treatment plant of a petrochemical industry. The element compositions of pyrolytic residues, CO, CO 2, NOx, SOx, total hydrocarbons and detailed volatile organic compounds of pyrolytic gas, and C, H, N, S content and compositions in biofuel were determined in this study. Generally, 75–80% water content in sludge cakes and about 65–70% weight of water vapor and volatile compounds were volatilized during the drying process. Propene, propane, 1-butene, n-butane, isobutene, toluene and benzene were the major volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of the pyrolytic gas, and the concentrations for most of the top 20 VOC species were greater than 5 ppm. C 5–C 9 compounds contributed 60% by weight of biofuel; 4-hydroxy-4-methyl-2-pentanone was the highest species, accounting for 28–53% of biofuel at various pyrolytic temperatures. Based on the dried residues, there was 8.5–13% weight in pyrolytic residues, 62–82% weight in liquid products (water and crude oil) and 5.8–30% weight in the gas phase after pyrolytic processing at 500–800 °C. Finally, 1.5–2.5 wt% liquid fuel was produced after the distillation process. The pyrolytic residues could be reused, the pyrolytic liquid product could be used as a fuel after distillation, and the pyrolytic gas could be recycled in the pyrolytic process to achieve non-toxic discharge and reduce the cost of sludge disposal.