Pyrolysis of RDF and Catalytic Decomposition of the Produced Tar in a Char Bed Secondary Reactor as an Efficient Source of Syngas

Abstract

One of the technical limitations of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) pyrolysis is the high content of tar in its gas products. In order to resolve this problem, a two-stage RDF pyrolysis with a catalyst based on char from RDF pyrolysis is proposed. This paper presents the results of municipal waste pyrolysis beginning in an oven heated to 480◦ C and ending with catalytic tar cracking carried out in the temperature range from 800 to 1000◦ C. Thermal and catalytic pyrolysis with a char catalyst containing a minimum of 6% Fe resulted in increases in the CO and H2 contents in gas products and decreases in CO2 and CH4 . At 1000◦ C, the mass ratio of gaseous products to liquids was greater than 6. The residence time of the gases in the catalytic zone was about 3–5 s. The reactor was a good source of hydrogen and carbon monoxide.