Production of Short Chain Aliphatic Hydrocarbon Fuel Gases – A new Renewable Energy Sources from Chrome Tanned Leather Wastes by Pyrolysis

This paper focuses on production of short chain aliphatic hydrocarbon gases (CxHy) from proteinaceous chrome tanned leather solid waste (CLW) under pyrolysis process. The main objective of the present study was to develop a methodology for disposal of CLW without converting trivalent chromium (Cr3+) into hexavalent chromium (Cr6+). For this purpose the CLW was pyrolysed up to 800 °C in the batch type gasification reactor system. The composition of the yield obtained from CLW under pyrolysis process was renewable energy fuel gases, 33.03% out of which, maximum 6.20% short chain aliphatic hydrocarbon fuel gases generated at 700 °C; condensate liquid (CL), 33.32%; and residual ash, 33.65%. Gas samples were collected to determine the presence of short chain aliphatic hydrocarbon gases consisting of methane, ethane, propane, butane and pentane (C1 to C5) at 400 °C and at every 100 °C rise up to 800 °C. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) confirms the presence of (CxHy) in the fuel gases and the green energy renewable fuel gases comprising of CxHy and H2 of about 16% could be generated from CLW. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis confirmed the solid residual ash contained no carcinogenic hexavalent chromium (Cr6+).