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Thermal Characteristics, Kinetics, and Volatility of Co-Combustion of Sewage Sludge and Rice Husk

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Abstract

This work focused on the evaluation of co-combustion of sewage sludge (SS) and rice husk (RH) using thermogravimetric–Fourier transform infrared spectrometry method (TG–FTIR). The thermal behavior was assessed through the combustion characteristic, interaction, kinetics, and gaseous product characteristics. The (co-)combustion process was divided into three stages. Index D exponentially increased as RH blending ratio increased and index S also increased from 10 to 70% RH blending ratio, indicating that the combustion behavior was improved by the RH blending. The activation energy was evaluated by two model-free iso-conversional methods: Flynn–Wall–Ozawa (FWO) and Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose (KAS). The minimum value of average activation energy among blends was obtained at sample with 30% RH blending, which was 103.31 kJ/mol by FWO and 97.81 kJ/mol by KAS. Several typical gaseous products and functional groups were detected by FTIR spectrum. The results showed that CO2 was the main volatile and its yield increased with the RH blending ratio.

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Abbreviations

SS:

Sewage sludge

RH:

Rice husk

S90R10:

Sample of 90 wt.% sewage sludge and 10 wt.% rice husk

S70R30:

Sample of 70 wt.% sewage sludge and 30 wt.% rice husk

S50R50:

Sample of 50 wt.% sewage sludge and 50 wt.% rice husk

S30R70:

Sample of 30 wt.% sewage sludge and 70 wt.% rice husk

S10R90:

Sample of 10 wt.% sewage sludge and 90 wt.% rice husk

PRH:

The proportion of rice husk in blends

FWO:

Flynn–Wall–Ozawa

KAS:

Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose

TG:

Thermogravimetry

DTG:

Derivative thermogravimetry

FTIR:

Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry

XRF:

X-Ray fluorescence spectrometer

D :

Volatile combustion characteristic index

S :

Comprehensive combustion characteristic index

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Acknowledgments

This work is supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 51376171).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Thermal Science and Energy Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Jinzhai Road, Hefei, 230026, China

    Chengxin Wang, Haobo Bi, Qizhao Lin, Chunlong Jiang, Xuedan Jiang & Kesheng Meng

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  1. Chengxin Wang
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  2. Haobo Bi
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Wang, C., Bi, H., Lin, Q. et al. Thermal Characteristics, Kinetics, and Volatility of Co-Combustion of Sewage Sludge and Rice Husk. Bioenerg. Res. 14, 1014–1024 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12155-020-10203-x

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