Pyrolysis product distribution of waste newspaper in MSW

Abstract Waste newspaper, one of the principal waste papers in Taiwan, was pyrolyzed with a thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) reaction system. The pyrolysis experiments were carried out in nitrogen environment at a constant heating rate of 5 K min −1 . The pyrolysis products and the residues were collected and analyzed by gas chromatography and elemental analyzer, respectively. The major products investigated included non-hydrocarbons (H 2 , CO, CO 2 , and H 2 O) and hydrocarbons (C 1–3 , C 4 , C 5 , C 6 , 1-ring, C 10–12 , levoglucosan, C 13–15 , and C 16–18 ). The cumulated masses and the instantaneous concentrations of pyrolysis products were obtained under the experimental conditions. The estimation of the mass of tar, yielded at various pyrolysis temperatures, was also made. The results of this study might be useful for the design of pyrolysis process as well as for determining the pyrolysis mechanisms of the newspaper.