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Automotive shredder residue (ASR) can create difficulties when managing, with its production increasing. It is made of different type of plastics, foams, elastomers, wood, glasses and textiles. For this reason, it is complicated to dispose of in a cost effective way, while also respecting the stringent environmental restrictions. Among thermal treatments, pyrolysis seems to offer an environmentally attractive method for the treatment of ASR; it also allows for the recovery of valuable secondary materials/fuels such as pyrolysis oils, chars, and gas. While, there is a great deal of significant research on ASR pyrolysis, the literature on higher scale pyrolysis experiments is limited. To improve current literature, the aim of the study was to investigate the pyrolysis of ASR in a bench scale rotary kiln. The Italian ASR was separated by dry-sieving into two particle size fractions: d 30mm. Both the streams were grounded, pelletized and then pyrolyzed in a continuous bench scale rotary kiln at 450, 550 and 650°C. The mass flow rate of the ASR pellets was 200-350g/h and each test ran for about 4-5h. The produced char, pyrolysis oil and syngas were quantified to determine product distribution. They were thoroughly analyzed with regard to their chemical and physical properties. The results show how higher temperatures increase the pyrolysis gas yield (44wt% at 650°C) as well as its heating value. The low heating value (LHV) of syngas ranges between 18 and 26MJ/Nm3dry. The highest pyrolysis oil yield (33wt.%) was observed at 550°C and its LHV ranges between 12.5 and 14.5MJ/kg. Furthermore, only two out of the six produced chars respect the LHV limit set by the Italian environmental regulations for landfilling. The obtained results in terms of product distribution and their chemical-physical analyses provide useful information for plant scale-up.

The goal of the present work was to carry out a review of the disposal practices for the agro-industry’s sugarcane residue and the trends of energy use in Cuba. The lack of an alternative energy carrier to electricity with storage capability for use in off-season has to date been an unsolvable question. The improvement of cogeneration capacity via implementation of CEST or BIG/GTCC and the barriers for their implementation, the introduction of a medium size (3 ton/h) fast pyrolysis module (FPM3) as a solution for off-season energy demand in the agro-industry, and an assessment of the energy required to do so, were also analyzed. Bio-oil production from bagasse and sugarcane agriculture residues (SCAR) and their particularities at the sugar mill are treated. The influence of sugar facility production process configuration is analyzed. The fast pyrolysis products and the trends of their end uses in Cuba are presented. The production cost of a ton of Bio-oil for FPM3 conditions was calculated at 155 USD/ton and the payback time as a function of selling price between 160 and 110 USD/ton was estimated to be from 1.5 to 4 years. The economic feasibility of the FPM3 was estimated, comparing the added values for three scenarios: 1st case, currently-used sugar production, 16.5 USD/ton of cane; 2nd case, factoring in the cogeneration improvement, 27 USD/ton of cane; and 3rd case, with cogeneration improvement and Bio-oil production, 40 USD/ton of cane. The energy use of SCAR and the introduction of FPM3 in the sugar mill are promising improvements that could result in a potential surplus of 80 kW he/ton of cane in-season, or 6 × 106 ton of Bio-oil (LHV=15 MJ/kg) for use off-season in a milling season of 4 million tons of raw sugar.

The aim of this work is the evaluation, on a pilot scale, of scrap tyre pyrolysis process performance and the characteristics of the products under different process parameters, such as temperature, residence time, pressure, etc. In this frame, a series of tests were carried out at varying process temperatures between 550 and 680 °C, other parameters being equal. Pyrolysis plant process data are collected by an acquisition system; scrap tyre samples used for the treatment, solid and liquid by-products and produced syngas were analysed through both on-line monitoring (for gas) and laboratory analyses. Results show that process temperature, in the explored range, does not seem to seriously influence the volatilisation reaction yield, at least from a quantitative point of view, while it observably influences the distribution of the volatile fraction (liquid and gas) and by-products characteristics.