Invited Talk: Versatile Use of CO2 in the Thermo-Chemical Process

Valorization of biomass and municipal solid waste (MSW) via a pyrolytic platform was investigated. In an effort to establish the more sustainable pyrolysis platform for biomass and MSW, this study particularly employed carbon dioxide (CO₂) as reactive gas medium. Thus, this study laid great emphasis on mechanistic understanding of CO₂ during the thermolysis of biomass and MSW. A series of the TGA tests signified that the mechanistic roles of CO₂could be exerted by the homogeneous reactions between volatile organic carbons (VOCs) evolved from the thermolysis of carbonaceous materials (i.e.,biomass and MSW) and CO₂. Also, lab-scale pyrolysis of biomass and MSW demonstrated that the homogeneous reactions (between VOCs and CO₂) played a pivotal role for shifting the carbon distribution from pyrolytic oil to pyrolysis gas. Such phenomena were initiated at ≥ 550 ˚C. Meanwhile, CO₂also suppressed dehydrogenation of VOCs. Such genuine mechanistic role of CO₂resulted in the compositional modification of pyrolytic oil by restricting the formation of benzene derivatives including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).