(2018) Science of the Total Environment_Carbon dioxide assisted thermal decomposition of cattle excreta

Lee S.-R., Lee J., Lee T., Cho S.-H., Oh J.-I., Kim H., Tsang D.C.W., Kwon E.E.

(Elsevier B.V.) Science of the Total Environment ISSN: 489697 Vol.615 Issue. Article No. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.09.201

To develop the environmentally benign thermo-chemical process, this study placed great emphasis on the influence of CO₂ on pyrolysis of cattle excreta for energy recovery. To this end, this study evaluates the possible enhanced energy recovery from cattle excreta using CO₂ as reaction medium/feedstock in the thermal degradation of cattle excreta. The enhanced generation of CO in the presence of CO₂ reached up to 15.15 mol% (reference value: 0.369 mol%) at 690 °C, which was equivalent to ~ 4000 times more generation of CO. In addition to the enhanced generation of CO, the enhanced generation of H2 and CH4 in the thermal degradation of cattle excreta in CO₂. Thus, the findings of this study revealed two genuine roles of CO₂: 1) enhanced thermal cracking of volatile organic carbons (VOCs) evolved from the thermal degradation of cattle excreta and 2) direct reaction between VOCs and CO₂ via gas phase reaction. © 2017 Elsevier B.V.

This work was supported by a National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) Grant funded by the Korean Government (Ministry of Education, Science and Technology ( MEST )) (No. NRF-2017R1D1A1B03028176 ).