Pyrolysis Characteristics and Kinetics of Municipal Solid Waste

Based on a systemic survey, the pyrolysis characteristics and apparent kinetics of the municipal solid waste （ MSW） under different conditions were researched using a special pyrolysis reactor, which could overcome the disadvantage of thermo-gravimetric analyzer. The thermal decomposition behaviour of MSW was investigated using thermo-gravimetric （ TG ） analysis at rates of 4.8,6.6,8.4, 12.0 and 13. 2 K/min. The pyrolysis characteristics of MSW were also studied in different function districts. The pyrolysis of MSW is a complex reaction process and three main stages are found according to the results. The first stage represents the degradation of cellulose and hemicellulose, with the maximum degradation rate occuring at 150℃ -200 ℃： the second stage represents dehydrochlorination and depolymerization of intermediate products and the differential thermogravimetric （ DTG ） curves have shoulder peaks at about 300℃： the third stage is the decomposition of the residual big molecular organic substance and lignin at 400 ℃- 600 ℃. Within the range of given experimental conditions, the results of non-linear fitting algorithm and experiment are in agreement with each other and the correlation coefficients are over0. 99. The kinetic characteristics are concerned with the material component and heating rate. The activation energy of reaction decreases with the increase of heating rate.

Thermal decomposition characteristics and kinetics of methyl linoleate under nitrogen and oxygen atmospheres

The thermal decomposition characteristics of methyl linoleate （ML） under nitrogen and oxygen atmo- spheres were investigated, using a thermogravimetric analyzer at a heating rate of 10 ~C/min from room tem- perature to 600℃. Furthermore, the pyrolytic and kinetic characteristics of ML at different heating rates were stud- ied. The results showed that the thermal decomposition characteristics of ML under nitrogen and oxygen atmo- spheres were macroscopically similar, although ML exhibited relatively lower thermal stability under an oxy- gen atmosphere than under a nitrogen atmosphere. The initial decomposition temperature, the maximum weight loss temperature, the peak decomposition temperature, and the rate of maximum weight loss of ML under an oxygen atmosphere were much lower than those under a nitrogen atmosphere and increased with increasing heating rates under either oxygen or nitrogen atmosphere. In addition, the kinetic characteristics of thermal decomposition of ML were elucidated based on the experimental results and by the multiple linear regression method. The activation energy, pre-exponential factor, reaction order, and the kinetic equation for thermal decomposition of ML were obtained. The comparison of experimental and calculated data and the analysis of statistical errors of pyrolysis ratios demonstrated that the kinetic model was reliable for pyrolysis of ML with relative errors of about 1%. Finally, the kinetic compensation effect between the pre-exponential factors and the activation energy in the pyrolysis of ML was also confirmed.