Study of kinetic characteristics of pyrolysis of sewage sludge and waste biomass using thermogravimetry

Abstract

The present study reports the utilization of municipal sewage sludge mixed with bagasse undergoes thermal decomposition for pyrolysis experiments and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The characterization tests established that bagasse contained higher levels of carbon and volatile matter than sewage sludge. Coats and Redfern method has been applied to TGA and differential thermogravimetric (DTG) data to extract kinetic parameters. The research showed that adding bagasse to sewage sludge during pyrolysis produced a shorter temperature window which scientists linked to quicker volatile component release. Bagasse's high volatile matter content enabled a combustion-like decomposition reaction of sludge to occur at reduced temperatures. A 50–50% sludge and bagasse mixture has lower activation energy than pure sewage sludge, suggesting that the presence of bagasse reduces the amount of reaction energy needed. This research uses Coats and Redfern method to calculate activation energy based on TG –DTG analysis of sewage sludge with bagasse in pyrolysis experiments.