Enhancement of gasification and liquefaction during fast co-pyrolysis of cedar wood and polyethylene through control of synergistic interactions

Cedar wood (CW) and polyethylene (PE) were co-pyrolyzed using variable CW particle sizes to investigate potential synergistic interactions for the control of product distribution. The fast co-pyrolysis of differently sized CW particles at a high PE mixing ratio (CW:PE = 10:90 w/w) 700 °C was investigated by product recovery tests as well as in situ pyrolysate monitoring. The PE and <75 μm CW particles mixture produced the highest yields of gases (29.2 wt%) and liquids (34.6 wt%), which were respectively 2.8 and 1.5 times higher than the estimated yields from individual CW and PE pyrolysates. Char production from CW and wax production from PE were reduced by nearly half of the estimated yields. The present work suggests that the pyrolysis of CW dispersed in a PE melt inhibits char formation, and radical interactions between the CW and PE pyrolysates dramatically enhance hydrocarbon production from the PE.