Co-pyrolysis re-use of sludge and biomass waste: Development, kinetics, synergistic mechanism and industrialization

• Published in: Journal of analytical and applied pyrolysis Vol. 168; p. 105746
• Main Authors: Ma, Mingyan, Xu, Donghai, Zhi, Youwei, Yang, Wanpeng, Duan, Peigao, Wu, Zhiqiang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.11.2022
• Subjects: Biomass waste; Co-pyrolysis; Kinetics; Sludge; Synergistic mechanism; Co-pyrolysis; Kinetics; Synergistic mechanism; Sludge; Biomass waste
• ISSN: 0165-2370; 1873-250X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jaap.2022.105746

The production and accumulation of sludge, as well as other biomass wastes, places a long-term burden on the urban ecosystem. Pyrolysis is an advanced waste disposal technology that can achieve harmless treatment and meanwhile produce clean energy (biogas, biochar, and bio-oil) to replace traditional fossil fuel. Co-pyrolysis, in particular, has potential to improve traditional pyrolysis in terms of pyrolysis efficiency and product quality, and thus is regarded as a new generation of environmentally friendly energy production techniques. Existing reviews on co-pyrolysis for sludge with other biomass wastes are scarce, and their complex co-pyrolysis mechanisms require systematic review so as to guide future technological progress. This work delivers an assessment of co-pyrolysis of sludge with various biomass wastes. Various kinetic methods and data show that the multi-step distributed activation energy method is the most suitable for co-pyrolysis studies. The synergistic promotion mechanism is crucial to increasing product application pathways so that all co-pyrolysis products (biogas, biochar, and bio-oil) may be delivered as revenue, making this technology much more economically viable. Furthermore, it also discusses prospects and challenges for successful industrialization of sludge co-pyrolysis. •Co-pyrolysis of sludge with various biomass wastes are summarized.•Kinetic research lacks uniform and reliable data for industrial guidance.•Emphasis on the impact of synergistic effects in co-pyrolysis processes and products application.•Synergistic mechanism is critical to improve co-pyrolysis products.•Prospects and challenges of co-pyrolysis in industrial application are proposed.