Pyrolysis of chromated copper arsenate (CCA) treated wood waste at elevated pressure: Influence of particle size, heating rate, residence time, temperature and pressure

Lab-scale pyrolysis experiments with weathered CCA treated wood chips have been performed and the influence of particle size, residence time (10–40 min), heating rate (5–20 °C/min), temperature (330–430 °C) and pressure (0 bar, 5 bar) has been investigated. Few data, covering the pyrolysis of weathered wood was found in the literature and the literature data on pyrolysis experiments with a controlled CCA wood input, showed that results were often highly affected by experimental uncertainty. In order to reduce the uncertainty on the results, a thorough characterization of the wood input has been performed and a ratio method has been proposed which allows to study the effect of particle size on arsenic and chromium volatilization. Larger wood particles show a higher arsenic and chromium retention during pyrolysis which is attributed to the higher mass transfer resistance in these particles. Residence time has a limited effect on arsenic retentions. Increasing heating rate results in a limited increase in arsenic retentions and a more profound increase in chromium retentions. The latter is attributed to a lower average particle temperature during heating caused by the thermal lag in larger particles. Elevated pressure results in a significant increase of arsenic retentions, which is probably due to higher mass transfer resistance. Increasing temperature results in a slight decrease in arsenic retentions till 390 °C, with a sharp decrease at higher temperatures. Chromium retentions are less affected by increasing temperature, especially at higher temperatures. To conclude, a mechanism is proposed for the volatilization of chromium and arsenic during low temperature pyrolysis of CCA wood. Mass transfer resistance and the formation of As4O6 are crucial for the control of arsenic volatilization, while heat transfer resistance and thermal lag are more important for the control of chromium volatilization.