Study on chemical kinetics of waste paper and its pyrolysis
This study focuses on the conversion of waste paper into liquid(bio-oil) and gaseous fuel. Thermogravimetric and differential thermal analyses have been applied to investigate the thermal degradation characteristics and the kinetic parameters (order of reaction, activation energy and pre-exponential factor) of waste papers at different heating rates. It is observed that there is a linear relationship between the heating rates and the kinetic parameters. The next attempt is to transform the waste papers into bio-oil and gaseous fuel by operating pyrolysis experiment at the temperature from 300 to 700˚C. The produced bio-oil has been characterized in respect of yields and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopic technique. 500˚C temperature is found to be the optimum temperature condition for producing the maximum bio-oil (44 wt%) from the waste papers. The main oxygen groups present in bio-oil are hydroxyl and carbonyl groups, and carbon hydrogen groups are both methyl and methylene groups. The pyrolysis and gasification have been performed at the temperature from 500 to 1000˚C and the heat keeping time 60 minutes. The gas components for 0, 30 and 60 minutes at every temperature have been analyzed in a gas chromatograph. Higher temperature and heat keeping time plays a great influence for producing hydrogen rich gaseous fuel. The produced gas is evaluated in respect of concentrations and lower heating values. The produced gases show the medium lower heating values which may be directly used for gas engine, gas turbine/ boiler for generating power and also the formation of methanol and methane etc.