title: Employing CO2as reaction medium for in-situ suppression of the formation of benzene derivatives and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons during pyrolysis of simulated municipal solid waste.
abstract: This study proposes a strategic principle to enhance the thermal efficiency of pyrolysis of municipal solid waste (MSW). An environmentally sound energy recovery platform was established by suppressing the formation of harmful organic compounds evolved from pyrolysis of MSW. Using CO2as reaction medium/feedstock, CO generation was enhanced through the following: 1) expediting the thermal cracking of volatile organic carbons (VOCs) evolved from the thermal degradation of the MSWs and 2) directly reacting VOCs with CO2. This particular influence of CO2on pyrolysis of the MSWs also led to the in-situ mitigation of harmful organic compounds (e.g., benzene derivatives and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)) considering that CO2acted as a carbon scavenger to block reaction pathways toward benzenes and PAHs in pyrolysis. To understand the fundamental influence of CO2, simulated MSWs (i.e., various ratios of biomass to polymer) were used to avoid any complexities arising from the heterogeneous matrix of MSW. All experimental findings in this study suggested the foreseeable environmental application of CO2to energy recovery from MSW together with disposal of MSW.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environment and Energy, Sejong University, Seoul 05006, South Korea.
authors.forename: Jechan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Environment and Energy, Sejong University, Seoul 05006, South Korea.
authors.forename: Dongho
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Science and Environmental Studies, The Education University of Hong Kong, Tai Po, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Yiu Fai
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Tsang
authors.affiliation: Advanced Technology Department, Land & Housing Institute, Daejeon 34047, South Korea.
authors.forename: Jeong-Ik
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.affiliation: Department of Environment and Energy, Sejong University, Seoul 05006, South Korea. Electronic address: ekwon74@sejong.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Eilhann E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Kwon
mesh_terms: D000397:Air Pollution / Q000517:prevention & control; D001555:Benzene Derivatives / Q000032:analysis*; D018533:Biomass; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D017745:Incineration / Q000379:methods*; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis*; D062611:Solid Waste / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D001555:Benzene Derivatives; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D062611:Solid Waste; D002245:Carbon Dioxide
keywords: Biomass; Carbon dioxide; Municipal solid waste; Polymer; Waste disposal; Waste-to-energy