Effect of eggshell- and homo-type Ni/Al2O3 catalysts on the pyrolysis of food waste under CO2 atmosphere

Soheil Valizadeh, Chang Hyun Ko, Jechan Lee, See Hoon Lee, Yeon Jeong Yu, Pau Loke Show, Gwang Hoon Rhee, Young Kwon Park

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22 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study highlights the potential of pyrolysis of food waste (FW) with Ni-based catalysts under CO2 atmosphere as an environmentally benign disposal technique. FW was pyrolyzed with homo-type Ni/Al2O3 (Ni–HO) or eggshell-type Ni/Al2O3 (Ni-EG) catalysts under flowing CO2 (50 mL/min) at temperatures from 500 to 700 °C for 1 h. A higher gas yield (42.05 wt%) and a lower condensable yield (36.28 wt%) were achieved for catalytic pyrolysis with Ni-EG than with Ni–HO (34.94 wt% and 40.06 wt%, respectively). In particular, the maximum volumetric content of H2 (21.48%) and CO (28.43%) and the lowest content of C2–C4 (19.22%) were obtained using the Ni-EG. The formation of cyclic species (e.g., benzene derivatives) in bio-oil was also effectively suppressed (24.87%) when the Ni-EG catalyst and CO2 medium were concurrently utilized for the FW pyrolysis. Accordingly, the simultaneous use of the Ni-EG catalyst and CO2 contributed to altering the carbon distribution of the pyrolytic products from condensable species to value-added gaseous products by facilitating ring-opening reactions and free radical mechanisms. This study should suggest that CO2-assisted catalytic pyrolysis over the Ni-EG catalyst would be an eco-friendly and sustainable strategy for disposal of FW which also provides a clean and high-quality source of energy.

Original languageBritish English
Article number112959
JournalJournal of Environmental Management
Volume294
DOIs
StatePublished - 15 Sep 2021

Keywords

  • CO
  • Eggshell-type catalyst
  • Food waste
  • Nickel
  • Pyrolysis

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