Pyrolysis of refuse derived fuel: Kinetic modelling from product composition

Abstract The pyrolysis of RDF has been studied in this work by analysing the gaseous product composition at different temperatures and reaction times. The formation of each gaseous component in the pyrolysis gas has been described by supposing the occurrence of simultaneous first-order reactions as well as neglecting possible interactions among them. This kinetic approach allows the calculation of the rate constants of formation for each product at different temperatures and the related thermodynamic quantities and the formulation of hypotheses on the mechanisms involved in the pyrolysis. Concerted mechanisms are proposed for the formation of most of the detected gaseous products.