通过废活性污泥与聚对苯二甲酸乙二醇酯共热解探究废弃物资源化潜力

Abstract Waste activated sludge (WAS) derived from food manufacturing poses critical environmental threats, necessitating sustainable management strategies. To address the challenges associated with the high moisture and ash contents of WAS, co-pyrolysis that incorporates polyethylene terephthalate (PET) offers a potential solution to transform WAS into value-added bio-products. In this study, the synergistic interactions between WAS and PET during co-pyrolysis were evaluated in terms of their thermal degradation behaviors, kinetics, and evolved volatiles at different blending ratios (3:1, 1:1, 1:3). The results revealed that the addition of PET synergistically enhanced the WAS decomposition, while the degradation of PET was inhibited at a high WAS fraction. Kinetic analysis further confirmed the interactions between WAS and PET, as the activation energies became higher than the additive values when the process reached the main degradation region of PET. The favorability of co-pyrolysis was proven by the less complicated reaction models that govern the kinetics of the blends, as well as the small difference between the values of activation energy and enthalpy change (4–6 kJ/mol). Evolved gas analysis revealed that co-pyrolysis of WAS and PET may undergo a greener alternative pathway to produce aromatic-rich bio-oil with much lower carbon dioxide emissions, as compared to pyrolysis of PET alone. These findings demonstrate the advantages of co-pyrolysis over the individual pyrolysis of WAS and PET, forming the theoretical basis for the upscaling of this technology and the effective valorization of hazardous wastes.