Combustion characteristics of polymethyl methacrylate waste under different thicknesses for energy utilization

ABSTRACT

Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), as a typical thermoplastic, has been widely used in numerous domains. However, large quantities of PMMA waste are generated due to the increasing demand. Combustion is one of the effective thermal-chemical methods to deal with solid waste and convert it into energy, so understanding the combustion characteristics of PMMA is essential. Furthermore, the thickness of a solid has significant effects on its combustion characteristics. Thus, combustion characteristics of PMMA with different thicknesses were studied by cone calorimeter experiments. The main combustion parameters were analyzed, such as combustion behavior, heat release, smoke production, etc. Results showed that the thermal thickness decreased as external heat flux increased. There was an excellent linear relationship between the peak values of three thicknesses and external heat flux. The ignition temperature increased, and the vaporization heat was 1.88 kJ/g. The thickness affected the effective combustion heat. Moreover, the positive relationship between smoke production rate peaks and heat release rate peaks indicated that PMMA was greatly flammable. The amount of CO₂ released was almost 100 times that of CO.

KEYWORDS:

• Combustion characteristics
• cone calorimeter
• polymethyl methacrylate
• solid waste
• thicknesses

Acknowledgements

This study is sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 52376132), Science and Technology Research Program of the Department of Education in Hubei Province, China (No. B2021001) and Fundamental Research Funds for National Universities, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary data

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/15567036.2023.2254886

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [52376132]; Fundamental Research Funds for National Universities, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) Science and Technology Research Program of the Department of Education in Hubei Province, China [B2021001].

Notes on contributors

Yanming Ding

Yanming Ding obtained PhD degree in State Key Laboratory of Fire Science, University of Science and Technology of China in 2017. He is currently professor and doctoral supervisor at China University of Geosciences. His research interests are fire and clean utilize of energy.

Mengqi Zhao

Mengqi Zhao is a student at China University of Geosciences. Her research interests are fire and clean utilize of energy.

Xinrong Xu

Xinrong Xu is a student at China University of Geosciences. Her research interests are fire and clean utilize of energy.

Jiaqing Zhang

Jiaqing Zhang obtained PhD degree in State Key Laboratory of Fire Science, University of Science and Technology of China. He is currently a worker at Anhui Province Key Laboratory for Electric Fire and Safety Protection, State Grid Anhui Electric Power Research Institute. His research interests are fire and clean utilize of energy.

Xueting Zhang

Xueting Zhang is a student at China University of Geosciences. Her research interests are fire and clean utilize of energy.

Wenlong Zhang

Wenlong Zhang is a PhD student at China University of Geosciences. His research interests are fire and clean utilize of energy.