Proper waste management and sustainable energy production are crucial for human development. For this purpose, this study evaluates the impact of blending percentage on energy recovery potential and environmental benefits of co-combustion of wastewater sludge and Brazilian low-rank coal. The sludge and coal were characterised in terms of their potential as fuel and co-combustion tests were carried out in a pilot-scale bubbling fluidised bed focused on the influence of the percentage of sludge mixture on the behaviour of co-combustion with coal in terms of flue gas composition and fluidised bed temperature stability. Sludge has a higher heating value (16.276MJ/kg) than coal (15.486MJ/kg) and a higher fuel ratio (8.48 vs. 0.21). The O2 and CO2 levels found in the co-combustion tests, together with a very low CO concentration, indicate good combustion. However, the NOx emission was considerable, varying from 825.2±94.5 to 1,320.5±33.8mg/m3 (O2ref=7%), pointing to the need for actions to reduce atmospheric pollution. Coal had higher ash content (52.64% vs. 25.00% d.b.). The temperatures in the bed region and in the combustion region showed similar behaviour for all the fuels. The addition of sewage sludge to mineral coal reduced the ash content without increasing the ash fusibility risk in the combustion temperature range evaluated. These findings suggest that sludge addition in co-combustion with coal offers promising results for both energy production and environmental sustainability.
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