Torrefaction of plastics and food waste for biofuel production

Abstract

Abstract Torrefaction can be considered a promising method to treat municipal solid waste (MSW) which not only solves the MSW management problem but also produces a solid product that has the potential to be used as fuel. This study aimed to examine the char properties and quantities from torrefaction of MSW (particularly plastic waste categorised as LDPE and PET, and kitchen waste) as well as the effects of process temperature on char products. Approximately 150 g of feedstock was placed inside the reactor for each torrefaction experiment with different temperatures (175, 200, and 225 °C). Torrefaction at 225 °C increased the higher heating values (HHV) of LDPE and PET, from 19.17 to 24.50 MJ/kg, while the HHV of food waste increased from 11.18 to 17.04 MJ/kg. Besides the char product, torrefaction of LDPE and PET at the temperature of 225 °C produced liquid products with HHV up to 34 MJ/kg. The char yield after the torrefaction of plastics (LDPE and PET) and food waste at a temperature of 225 °C were 14.77% and 30.03%, respectively.