Pyrolysis of Biomass and Polypropylene : Influence of Pyrolysis Temperature Range, Biomass Type, and Biomass Polypropylene Mass Ratio on the Synergistic Effect

The change in co-pyrolysis reaction kinetics with temperature and mixing ratio must be investigated to clarify the different factors influencing the co-pyrolysis process. The co-pyrolysis synergistic effects of rice husk (RH), sugarcane bagasse (SUG), and poplar wood (PW) with hydrogen-rich polypropylene (PP) were studied using a thermogravimetric method. The total synergy degree (φ) and the difference between experimental and theoretical weight losses (∆W) were defined, and the activation energies of various experimental materials were calculated by the isoconversional method. Moreover, the biochar was characterized via scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that compared with the theoretical value, the amount of biochar from SUG and PP decreased at all mass ratios and showed a positive synergistic effect. When the mass ratio of RH to PP was 1:3, the synergistic effect was the strongest, and the biochar was reduced by 36.00%. Simultaneously, three types of biomass and PP were found to have an inhibition effect on the pyrolysis of biomass at that mass ratio. The synergistic effect of biomass and PP was related to biomass species, pyrolysis temperature, and mass ratio of biomass to PP, but not to the effective hydrogen-to-carbon ratio of biomass