Application of general third-order Gaussian distribution activation energy model in the combustion of solid waste

ABSTRACT

Solid waste had a variety of components, and its complex and obscure combustion behavior brought challenges to calculate the kinetic parameters accurately. Therefore, the thermogravimetric experiments of municipal solid waste and sewage sludge were carried out and a general third-order Gaussian distributed activation energy model was built. The combustion components of solid waste could be divided into three categories: light volatile components, heavy volatile components, and fixed carbon. The kinetic model matched the experimental data well, the adjR² was above 0.9994 and the global activation energy was within a reasonable range of 54.85 kJ/mol-178.04 kJ/mol. Local sensitivity analysis found that the average activation energy had a strong influence on the stability of the model, and the degree of influence was positively correlated with the content of combustion components. In addition, the model had the ability to predict experimental data under unknown conditions.

KEYWORDS:

• General Gaussian distributed activation energy model
• local sensitivity analysis
• model prediction
• municipal solid waste
• sewage sludge

Declarations and ethics statements

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Guangzhou Science and Technology Program key projects [201804020082], Guangdong Key Laboratory of Efficient and Clean Energy Utilization, South China University of Technology [2013A061401005], State Administration for Market Regulation Science and Technology Project [2017QK152].

Notes on contributors

Jiangcheng Luo

Jiangcheng Luo obtained Bachelor degree in Energy and Power Engineering from South China University of Technology in 2019. He is currently a Master degree candidate in South China University of Technology. His research interests are efficient and clean utilize of energy.

Yanfen Liao

Yanfen Liao obtained Ph.D. degree in Engineering Thermophysics from Zhejiang University in 2003. She is currently professor and doctoral supervisor at South China University of Technology. Her research interests are efficient and clean utilize of energy.

Limei Chen

Limei Chen obtained Bachelor degree in Thermal Energy and Power Engineering from South China University of Technology in 2016. She is currently a doctoral candidate in South China University of Technology. Her research interests are efficient and clean utilize of energy.

Yuqing Xia

Yuqing Xia obtained Bachelor degree in Energy and Power Engineering from South China University of Technology in 2018. He is currently a Master degree candidate in south China University of Technology. His research interests are efficient and clean utilize of energy.

Junnan Wu

Junnan Wu obtained Bachelor degree in Energy and Power Engineering from South China University of Technology in 2018. He is currently a Master degree candidate in south China University of Technology. His research interests are efficient and clean utilize of energy.

Xiaoqian Ma

Xiaoqian Ma obtained Ph.D. degree from Huazhong University of Technology in 1995. He is currently professor and doctoral supervisor at South China University of Technology. His research interests are efficient and clean utilize of energy.