Farooq Muhammad Umar, Sadiq Khadija, Anis Mehwish, Hussain Ghulam, Usman Muhammad, Fouad Yasser, Mujtaba M A, Fayaz H, Silitonga A S
Institute of Environmental Engineering and Research, University of Engineering and Technology Lahore, P.O. Box 54980, Pakistan.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology Lahore, P.O. Box 54980, Pakistan.
Heliyon. 2024 Apr 3;10(7):e28980. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e28980. eCollection 2024 Apr 15.
Solid waste management is one of the biggest challenges of the current era. The combustible fractions in the waste stream turn out to be a good energy source if converted into refuse-derived fuel. Researchers worldwide are successfully converting it into fuel. However, certain challenges are associated with its application in gasifiers, boilers, etc. to co-fire it with coal. These include high moisture content, low calorific value, and difficulty to transport and store. The present study proposed torrefaction as a pretreatment of the waste by heating it in the range of 200 °C-300 °C in the absence of oxygen at atmospheric pressure. The combustible fraction from the waste stream consisting of wood, textile, paper, carton, and plastics termed as mixed waste was collected and torrefied at 225 °C, 250 °C, 275 °C, and 300 °C for 15 and 30 min each. It was observed that the mass yield and energy yield decreased to 45% and 62.96% respectively, but the energy yield tended to increase by the ratio of 1.39. Proximate analysis showed that the moisture content and volatile matter decreased for torrefied samples, whereas the ash content and fixed carbon content increased. Similarly, the elemental analysis revealed that the carbon content increased around 23% compared to raw samples with torrefaction contrary to hydrogen and oxygen, which decreased. Moreover, the higher heating value (HHV) of the torrefied samples increased around 1.3 times as compared to the raw sample. This pretreatment can serve as an effective solution to the current challenges and enhance refuse-derived fuel's fuel properties.
固体废物管理是当今时代最大的挑战之一。如果将废物流中的可燃部分转化为垃圾衍生燃料，结果会成为一种良好的能源。世界各地的研究人员都在成功地将其转化为燃料。然而，在气化炉、锅炉等中与煤混烧时，其应用存在一些挑战。这些挑战包括高含水量、低热值以及运输和储存困难。本研究提出将烘焙作为废物的预处理方法，即在常压无氧条件下于200℃至300℃的范围内加热废物。收集了由木材、纺织品、纸张、纸箱和塑料组成的废物流中的可燃部分，即混合废物，并分别在225℃、250℃、275℃和300℃下烘焙15分钟和30分钟。结果发现，质量产率和能量产率分别降至45%和62.96%，但能量产率趋于以1.39的比例增加。近似分析表明，烘焙后的样品含水量和挥发物减少，而灰分和固定碳含量增加。同样，元素分析表明，与未烘焙的原始样品相比，烘焙后碳含量增加了约23%，而氢和氧含量则减少。此外，烘焙后样品的高热值（HHV）比原始样品增加了约1.3倍。这种预处理可以作为解决当前挑战的有效方案，并提高垃圾衍生燃料的燃料特性。
