Influence of particle size on pyrolysis and gasification performance of municipal solid waste in a fixed bed reactor

Pyrolysis and gasification of municipal solid waste (MSW) were carried out in a lab-scale fixed bed reactor in order to evaluate the effects of particle size at different bed temperatures on product yield and composition. The bed temperature was varied from 600 to 900 °C and the MSW was separated into three different size fractions (below 5 mm, 50–10 mm and above 10 mm). Particle size and temperature had integrated effects on product yield and composition: higher temperature resulted in higher gas yield with less tar and char, and, at the same temperature, dry gas yield increased with a decrease in particle size, and char and tar yield decreased. The differences due to particle sizes in pyrolysis and gasification performance practically disappeared at the highest temperatures tested. Smaller particle sizes resulted in higher H2 and CO contents for both pyrolysis and gasification of MSW. Minimizing the size of raw materials is an alternative method to improve the gas quality of MSW pyrolysis and gasification.