Thermal behavior and evolved gas analysis for pyrolysis of olive pomace, coal, and their blends using TGA/FTIR

Abstract

This study analyzed the thermal behavior and evolved gas for pyrolysis of olive pomace (OP), coal, and their five blends at five different heating rates using TGA/FTIR. Furthermore, syn- ergistic effects were investigated during the co-pyrolysis of OP and coal. Mass loss (ML) sys- tematically increased in the second stage of all samples from pure coal toward pure OP, but the corresponding temperatures and temperature ranges decreased. The synergistic effect was observed for ML and maximum differential thermogravimetry (DTGmax) in the blends of 60% OP + 40% Coal and 80% OP + 20% Coal. The absorbances of CO and CO2 were similar, but the absorbances of CH4, NOx, and SO2 showed similar and clear trends with a single peak at temperatures of 200-600oC as in TG and DTG curves. The peak intensity and hence the contribution to CH4, NOx, and SO2 emission increased as the OP content increased in the blend. The highest peak intensity with the largest contribution to CO emission was observed in the pure OP sample, whereas the lowest peak with the least contribution was observed in the 40% OP + 60% Coal sample. Similar behavior was observed in the CO2 absorbance. The results of this study with different thermal behavior, synergistic effects, and gas emissions during pyrolysis of OP, coal, and their blends suggest conducting further studies under differ- ent experimental conditions to understand better and get useful knowledge for the design of industrial pyrolysis reactors.