Pyrolysis study of sewage sludge by TG-MS and TG-GC-MS coupled analyses

The pyrolysis of an urban plant sewage sludge carried out under He atmosphere was studied by thermogravimetric-mass spectrometric (TG-MS) and thermogravimetric-gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric (TG-GC-MS) analyses. The sludge was thermally degraded with a heating rate of 10°C min–1 in the 20–1000°C interval; its mass loss is 51.8% up to 600°C and 61.4% up to 1000°C. Gas chromatographic analyses of the gas released during major thermogravimetric events allow the identification of various chemical species. Water, carbon mono- and di-oxide, several hydrocarbons (up to C5, both saturated and unsaturated) were the major detected species. Minor amount of pollutant species, such as cyano-compounds, were also detected. Among the released species hydrocarbons constituted the major fraction (53%), thus suggesting their immediate exploitation as fuel gas. The pyrolysis behaviour of this sample was then compared with other sewage sludge arising from wastewater treatment plants subjected to anaerobic digestion as found in literature data.