Energy and Useful Products from Waste Using Pyrolysis: A State-of-the-Art Review

Waste to energy is an answer to the growing demand for fossil fuels. Pyrolysis plays an important role in waste to energy technologies. The product obtained from pyrolysis depends on various physical parameters that influence the reaction mechanism. Pyrolysis reactions can be classified onto flash, fast and slow pyrolysis depending on temperature and heating rate. This paper discusses the effect of parameters like temperature, heating rate, residence time and particle size for each of the above mentioned pyrolysis types. The product distribution for each type of pyrolysis is discussed. Moreover many feed materials are being researched to find out the best possible feed in terms of product yield. The paper brings out a list of various feed tried out in recent times and also the yield obtained from each of the feed material. INTRODUCTION Waste is an inevitable consequence of numerous human activities. The average amount of waste generated, in India, by an individual ranges from 100g in rural areas to 500g in urban areas (Shaleen & Pandey, 2001). Waste can be categorized into solid, liquid and gas. Solid waste management has gained a lot of importance these days and ways of handling and disposing them safely are being researched. In the past two decades many researchers have worked on solid waste management. Many efforts were towards reusing and recycling the waste. When it comes to reusing organic waste, the main method is to convert the waste into energy. Waste to energy is an upcoming field that aims in converting organic waste into fuel feedstocks by methods like incineration, gasification or pyrolysis. Each of the methods is widely researched and finds application as the situation demands. The main objective of this paper is to review the recent trends in pyrolysis of solid waste disposal. Solid waste has a major portion of it as organic matter. Organic matter has absorbed carbon dioxide as a consequence of photosynthesis. Upon thermal destruction in presence of excess air, the absorbed carbon dioxide is liberated back. Under controlled thermal destruction, we can obtain valuable organic products like CO, H2, CH4 etc. The suitability of a biomass fuel for the production of energy in a combustion process is based on the inherent energy content of the elemental constituents, the density, and the moisture content of the material. Session: Energy Engineering Energy and Useful Products from Waste Using Pyrolysis: A State-of-the-Art Review S.Saravana Sampath, B.V.Babu, a Lecturer, Department of Chemical Engineering, Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani, Pilani – 333031, India, Email: [email protected] b Assistant Dean-ESD &Head-Chemical Engineering Department, Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani, Pilani-333031, India, Email: [email protected]