Detection and kinetic simulation of animal hair/wool wastes pyrolysis toward high-efficiency and sustainable management. (15th July 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Sun, Xiaogang; Zhu, Zhuonan; Zaman, Fakhar; Huang, Yaqin; Guan, Yuepeng
• Is Part Of: Waste management. Volume 131(2021)
• Page Start: 305
• Page End: 312
• Publication Date: 2021-07-15
• Subjects: Hair/wool wastes -- Pyrolysis -- Kinetic -- Thermodynamic -- Bioenergy -- Leather industry; Hazardous wastes -- Periodicals; Refuse and refuse disposal -- Periodicals; 363.728
• DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2021.06.018
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0956-053X

Abstract

Highlights: High keratin content makes hair/wool wastes a renewable fuel with high HHV. Pyrolysis gas/oil could be used as fuel directly or converted to useful chemicals. Isoconversional method applied to determine kinetic and thermodynamic parameters. Abstract: Large quantities of solid wastes are produced each year in the leather industry. The considerable wastes generated exhibit tremendous application potential in terms of renewable energy sources and functional materials. Among them, animal hair/wool wastes possess high carbon content, which can be used sustainably and efficiently by using pyrolysis. Herein, the pyrolysis process of hair/wool wastes was investigated using TG-IR and Py-GC/MS, while the pyrolysis kinetic and thermodynamic were analyzed using "model-free" methods. The results showed that the hair/wool waste pyrolysis process can be divided into three stages: dehydration, devolatilization, and carbonization. The volatile products were mainly phenols (7.42%) and heterocyclic compounds (21.26%), which can be directly used as bio-energy (bio-gases and bio-oil) or converted to other useful chemical products. The kinetic parameters ( Ea and A ) calculated using the Flynn-Wall-Ozawa, Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose, and Kissinger methods indicated the complexity of the decomposition reactions, which was also confirmed by thermodynamic (Δ H, Δ G, and Δ S ) calculation. Some suggestions have also been provided for the preparation of functional biochar with heteroatoms (i.e., N, O, and S) doping. These results not only provide a guide for designing the pyrolysis of hair/wool wastes but can also help develop a potential method to convert the hair/wool wastes into bioenergy to achieve sustainable development of the leather industry.