Devolatilization as an alternative for energy valorization of bio-medical waste: kinetic study

Abstract

Thermogravimetric analysis has established kinetics for the devolatilization of bio sanitary waste as possible sources for alternative fuels. In this study, the thermal degradation of materials was carried out at different heating rates: 5, 15, 30 °C/min with dynamic ramps and isothermal periods in the thermogravimetric analyzer. The data from the mass loss at different times and temperatures, the conversion of the thermal decomposition reaction was calculated, this value was used in three mathematical models that will predict the kinetic parameters such as activation energy, pre-exponential factor, and order of the reaction. A better fit model is proposed by minimizing the error between the calculated thermal degradation rate and the experimental one. It is concluded that the best kinetic model for contaminated clothes and gloves considered the Arrhenius equation and reaction order two and includes reference temperatures of 450 and 367 °C for each material. The activation energy values for contaminated gowns and gloves are 553.62 and 154.06 kJ/mol, respectively. It is established that by achieving a conversion of 0.98 in the thermal degradation of these materials, they can be converted into the material of interest as alternative fuels.