Pyrolysis Systematics for Co-utilization Applications

摘要

In a search for environmentally sound strategies to mitigate the 1973 and 1979 oil crises we concluded that thermo-chemical co-utilization of coal with other domestic fuels offered significant national energy, environmental and economic (EEE) benefits. At this time with the heavier reliance on imported fuels the need is even greater. Unfortunately, the poor understanding of pyrolysis, that underlies fuel combustion and conversion, is a serious impediment to the development of clean technologies for co-utilization of domestic fuels. To overcome this deficiency we have been seeking systematics of the gas, liquid and char yields from pyrolysis of domestically available solid fuels including biomass, municipal solid waste, agricultural wastes and bio-solids as well as coal and natural gas. In this study we start with an assembly of ultimate and proximate analysis data corrected for moisture, ash and the minor constituents sulfur and nitrogen. We search for correlations between the feedstock and pyrolysis product compositions of these ideal carbon, hydrogen, oxygen (CHO) materials. Using a short list (SL) semi-empirical model (SEM) we find correlations between feedstocks and major volatile products compositions We extend these correlations to other temperatures with the logistic function and its variations. We test these extensions by a set of experimental pyrolysis measurements with rice husks, an abundantly available agricultural waste. Our results point to a path towards the development of a science and technology for optimizing feedstock blends in various forms of domestic fuel co-utilization.