Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

INFLUENCE OF OPERATIONAL PARAMETERS IN PREPARATION OF BIO-FUELS FROM MUNICIPAL ORGANIC SOLID WASTE VIA MICROWAVE INDUCED CARBONIZATION - A REVIEW

A. Vimalkumar and M. Ganesapillai,

Abstract

This review represents a wide variety of technologies available to produce energy from municipal solid waste. The increase in the generation of solid waste is a matter of growing concern because it represents a potential risk for human health and the environment. In particular Microwave induced pyrolysis possesses distinct advantage is that it provides rapid and energy efficient heating compared with conventional heating method. Microwave assisted pyrolysis is promising thermo chemical conversion technique for energy recovery, waste management and converting waste into useful energy products. Carbonaceous residue, pyrolysis oil and synthetic gas are the three main products of the pyrolysis process. This paper represents an extensive review of various microwave pyrolysis applications in waste to energy engineering. Pyrolysis of solid waste using microwave technology used to produce activated carbon, fuels and chemical feed stocks. The effect of process parameters such as microwave power, temperature, additives and irradiation time also discussed. This paper also discusses about comparison of conventional heating and microwave heating. In addition it can be established that the pyrolysis process offers an exciting way to recover both the energetic and chemical value of the waste materials by generating potentially useful pyrolysis products suitable for future reuse.