Characterization of Products from Fast Micropyrolysis of Municipal Solid Waste Biomass

Abstract

Biomass feedstock costs remain one of the largest impediments to biofuel production economics. Municipal solid waste (MSW) represents an attractive feedstock with year-round availability, an established collection infrastructure paid for by waste generators, low cost, and the potential to be blended with higher cost feedstocks to reduce overall feedstock costs. Paper waste, yard waste, and construction and demolition waste (C&D) were examined for their applicability in the pyrolysis conversion pathway. Paper waste consisted of nonrecyclable paper such as mixed low grade paper, food and beverage packaging, kitchen paper wastes and coated paper; yard waste consisted of grass clippings, and C&D wastes consisted of engineered wood products obtained from a construction waste landfill. The waste materials were tested for thermochemical conversion potential using a bench scale fast micropyrolysis process. Bio-oil yields were the highest for the C&D materials and lowest for the paper waste. The C&D wastes had the highest level of lignin derived compounds (phenolic and cyclics), while the paper waste had higher levels of carbohydrate derived compounds (aldehydes, organic acids, ketones, alcohols, and sugars). However, the paper material had higher amounts of lignin derived compounds than expected based upon lignin content that is likely due to the presence of polyphenolic resins used in paper processing. The paper and yard wastes had significantly higher levels of ash content than the C&D wastes (14−15% versus 0.5−1.3%), which further correlated to higher levels of alkali and alkaline earth metals, which are known to reduce the amount of pyrolysis bio-oil produced. The effect of acid washing was evaluated for grass clipping and waste paper, and the amount of bio-oil produced was increased from 58% to 73% and 67% to 73%, respectively.

Evaluation of bio-oil compounds of catalytic fast pyrolysis by multivariate analysis

“…Construction and demolition materials had the highest bio-oil yield, but paper had the lowest yield. Chemical compounds derived from different MSW were also different [25]. A total of 26 kinds of MSW components were classified by cluster analysis technique based on the proximate and ultimate analyses, heating values, and thermogravimetric (TG) data.…”

Effects of Coproduct Uses on Environmental and Economic Sustainability of Hydrocarbon Biofuel from One- and Two-Step Pyrolysis of Poplar

“…Nitrogen is the fluidizing reactant for the fluidized-bed reactor. The torrefaction step was modeled in Aspen Plus using a yield reactor based on literature data for stream compositions 18,19 . Yields of noncondensable gases, condensed liquid (bio-oil) and torrefied solid at different torrefaction temperatures and the yield distribution of the oil and gas for torrefaction are shown as Tables 2.2 and 2.3.…”

“…The most prevalent hydrocarbons in the biofuel are low molecular weight alkanes and cycloalkanes as well as aromatic compounds. The yields of different compounds in the bio-oil was determined using data from Fivga 23 with additional gc/ms calibration work of Klemetsrud et al 18,23 .…”

Scale-up and process integration of sugar production by acidolysis of municipal solid waste/corn stover blends in ionic liquids

“…Compared with the seasonal availability of agricultural wastes, MSW has the advantages of year-round availability, an established collection infrastructure and potential availability at negative cost [11]. An efficient use of MSW would not only benefit the biofuel industry, but also reduce landfill disposal [7].…”