Analysis of the combustion of sewage sludge-derived fuel by a thermogravimetric method in China.

The treatment and disposal of sewage sludge are significant environmental problems in China. The reuse of sewage sludge for fuel could be an effective solution. The aim of this study was to characterize the behavior of sludge-derived fuel during combustion by a thermogravimetric method. The combustion profiles obtained showed four obvious weight loss regions. The results of dynamics analysis showed that first-order reactions together with Arrhenius' law explained reasonably well the different stages of weight loss in the samples. Three temperature regions (162-327 degrees C, 367-445 degrees C, and 559-653 degrees C for sawdust and 162-286 degrees C, 343-532 degrees C, and 609-653 degrees C for coal) in each derivative thermogravimetry (DTG) curve corresponded well with the Arrhenius equation. The reactivity of sludge was lower than that of samples containing sawdust, but higher than that of coal-containing samples. These data demonstrate that sludge-derived fuel has better combustion characteristics than sludge, sawdust, or coal. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.