摘要

The disposal of paper mill sludge through anaerobic digestion (AD) combined pyrolysis was investigated. Two paper mill sludge samples, both with very low lower heating values (LHV) were adopted to compare the energy balance change in the disposal process; and the influence of AD step on the characteristics of chars, including their LHVs, specific area, heavy metal stabilisation, and so on was also studied. The experimental results showed that the biogas (methane) generated from AD step can help to improve energy balance in the pyrolysis processes. As a result, the energy balance for paper mill sludge pyrolysis disposal changed from being in deficit to in surplus when AD step was combined for the sludge of relatively low LHV; or the energy surplus increased. Both the micropore surface area and the LHV of chars decreased. The nutrient elements like P and K in the sludges were partially lost into the AD liquids. But the heavy metals in the chars from the digested sludges were found to be similarly stable to those from the raw sludges when subject to leaching. In general AD combined pyrolysis is proved to be a valid method to dispose paper mill sludge with very low LHV.