Thermal Characterization, Kinetic Analysis and Co-Combustion of Sewage Sludge Coupled with High Ash Ekibastuz Coal

Madiyar Aidabulov, Daulet Zhakupov, Khabiba Zhunussova, Aknur Temireyeva, Dhawal Shah () and Yerbol Sarbassov ()
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Madiyar Aidabulov: Chemical and Materials Engineering, School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, Nazarbayev University, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan
Daulet Zhakupov: Chemical and Materials Engineering, School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, Nazarbayev University, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan
Khabiba Zhunussova: Chemical and Materials Engineering, School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, Nazarbayev University, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan
Aknur Temireyeva: Chemical and Materials Engineering, School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, Nazarbayev University, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan
Dhawal Shah: Chemical and Materials Engineering, School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, Nazarbayev University, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan
Yerbol Sarbassov: Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, Nazarbayev University, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 18, 1-13

Abstract: Efficient utilization of natural resources and possible valorization of solid waste materials such as sewage sludge into secondary materials via thermal conversion and simultaneously recovering energy is vital for sustainable development. The continuous increase in metropolises leads to an enormous production of wet sewage sludge, which creates major environmental and technical issues. In this paper, the samples of sewage sludge from Astana’s waste water treatment plant are analyzed for their thermochemical properties, followed by thermogravimetric and kinetic analysis using the Flynn–Wall–Ozawa and Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose methods. Overall, the calorific value of sewage sludge sample was 18.87 MJ/kg and was comparable to that of the bituminous coal samples. The activation energy varied from 140 to 410 kJ/mol with changing conversion from 0.1 to 0.7. Further, mono-combustion and co-combustion experiments of the sewage sludge with high ash bituminous coal were conducted using the laboratory scale bubbling fluidized bed rig, respectively. The difference in NO x emissions between mono-combustion of sewage sludge and co-combustion with coal were at around 150 ppm, while this value for SO 2 was similar in average, but fluctuates between 150 and 350 ppm. Overall, the findings of this study will be useful in developing a co-combustion technology for a sustainable disposal of municipal sewage sludge.

Keywords: sewage sludge; thermogravimetric analysis; kinetic analysis; co-combustion; bituminous coal; flue gas analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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