DETERMINATION OF THE PHYSICAL-CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF SOLID WASTE FOR USE IN THE PYROLYSIS PROCESS

Resumo

Brazil is still very incipient in the use of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) for the generation of fuels and electric energy. Law No. 12.305/10 establishes the National Solid Waste Policy (NSWP), considered efficient and adequate for solving the problems caused by MSW. However,  NSWP is considered a process of high cost when compared to  landfill. Due to the need to seek clean and renewable forms of energy, the pyrolysis process can be an alternative in the  primary energy production. This is a thermochemical conversion process, which occurs at high temperatures and involves several chemical reactions, whose liquid organic aqueous fraction is called bio-oil. This work studied the physicochemical characteristics of some types of waste (food scraps, cardboard and paper) and their potential for power generation. The samples presented similar elemental composition and the moisture content for energy generation: 7 % for food scraps (FS), 6 % for cardboard and 4 % for paper. Thermogravimetric analysis were performed to establish that the optimum temperature pyrolysis, in addition to determining  the ash content, values above 20 % may cause loss of energy in the process or soot in the liquid fraction. The lowest  heating value (LHV) presented typical values of biomasses, between 13 MJ/kg and 20/MJ kg. Considering the obtained results, these samples presented energetic potential for use in the pyrolysis process.