Co‑pyrolysis of Cassava Peel with Synthetic Polymers: Thermal and Kinetic Behaviors
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Date
2021-10
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Publisher
Elsevier: Waste Disposal & Sustainable Energy
Abstract
This research efort focuses on the co-pyrolysis of cassava peels waste and some synthetic polymers towards energy conversion and reducing the volume of these waste fractions dumped on dumpsites. The co-pyrolysis behavior and pyrolysis
kinetics of various synthetic polymer wastes/cassava peel blends were investigated by blending cassava peel waste with
low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polystyrene (PS) at diferent weight ratios. The
physical characteristics of each sample were investigated and the co-pyrolysis experiments were conducted at a heating rate
of 10 °C/min from room temperature to 800 °C in N2 atmosphere in a thermogravimetric analyzer. Subsequent to thermal
decomposition, kinetic analysis was done using the thermogravimetric data. Results from physicochemical characterization
showed that cassava peel has a relatively lower calorifc value of 15.92 MJ/kg compared with polystyrene (41.1 MJ/kg),
low-density polyethylene (42.6 MJ/kg), and polyethylene terephthalate (21.1 MJ/kg). The thermal decomposition behavior
of cassava peel was seen to be signifcantly diferent from those of the synthetic polymers. The decomposition of the biomass
material such as cassava peel generally occurs in two stages while the decomposition of LDPE, PS, and PET occurred in a
single stage. The activation energy required for thermal degradation in cassava peel was also found to be lower to that of the
plastic material. The co-pyrolysis of cassava peel and diferent synthetic polymers afected the thermal and kinetic behaviors
of the blends, reduce the activation energy and residue after pyrolysis.
Description
Keywords
Co-pyrolysis, Cassava peel, Synthetic, Polymer, Kinetic, Thermal