The lab-scale and thermogravimetric analysis of the catalytic and non-catalytic co-pyrolysis of oak and canteen waste mixture

Abstract

Pyrolysis is a thermochemical process used to produce utilisable materials of various phases. The energy efficiency of the canteen waste pyrolysis can be increased with the addition of oak, so a 2:1 mixture of oak and canteen waste was pyrolysed. To examine the efficiency of catalysts on the co-pyrolysis, the mixture was pyrolysed with and without catalysts. The catalysts used were calcined dolomite, calcined zeolite and NaCl, in 5 wt%. The process was examined with laboratory experiments and thermogravimetric (TG) method. The catalysts increased the base material conversion and gas yield. There was no significant change in the H2/CO ratio. The high heating value of the samples with NaCl and calcined dolomite significantly improved. The residual carbon of the samples with catalysts decreased, compared to the original mixture. The effects of calcined zeolite and NaCl can be observed at low temperatures but the effects of calcined dolomite appear at 650°C.