The effect of torrefaction temperature and catalyst loading in Microwave-Assisted in-situ catalytic Co-Pyrolysis of torrefied biomass and plastic wastes

In the current study, the effect of torrefaction temperatures (125-175 degrees C) and catalyst quantity (5-15 g) on copyrolysis of torrefied sawdust (TSD) and polystyrene (PS) are investigated to obtain value-added products. The role of torrefaction in co-pyrolysis of TSD: PS was analyzed to understand the product yields, synergy, and energy consumption. As the torrefaction temperature increases, oil yield (48.3-59.6 wt%) and char yield (24.3-29 wt%) increase while gas yield (27.4-11.4 wt%) decreases. Catalytic co-pyrolysis showed a significant level of synergy when compared to non-catalytic co-pyrolysis. For the conversion (%), a positive synergy maximum (-2.6) exists at a torrefaction temperature of 175 degrees C and 15 g of KOH catalyst. To develop the model, polynomial regressionbased machine learning was used to predict pyrolysis product yields and energy usage variables. The developed models showed significant prediction accuracy (R-2 > 0.98), suggesting the experimental values and the predicted values matched well.