Thermogravimetric-infrared analysis and performance optimization of co-pyrolysis of oily sludge and rice husks

In this paper, thermogravimetric-infrared spectroscopy was used to analyze co-pyrolysis of oily sludge (OS) from oil penetration and rice husks (RH) at various ratios (1:0; 3:1; 1:1; 1:3; 0:1), obtaining pyrolysis weight-loss behaviors, the laws of mutual synergy, and gas volatilization characteristics. The Coats-redfern and response surface method were employed to analyze kinetics and optimize pyrolysis, respectively. The T-i, T-max, and T-f increase as the heating rate increases, and the weight loss increases in the second stage. With the increase of the proportion of RH, the Ti and T-max of the mixture increase, while the T-f and residual content decrease. The co-pyrolysis of the OS and RH has synergistic effects. The addition of RH is beneficial to reduce the E of OS pyrolysis. The mixing ratio affects the strength of small-molecular-gases volatilization. When the RH ratio is 58.9% at 10K/min, the minimum predicted E and residual amount of co-pyrolysis are 58.602 kJ/mol and 42.6%, respectively. (C) 2022 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.