One of the most efficient among the methods of managing waste tire rubber is the pyrolysis process which allows for obtaining pyrolysis oil. The as-received, raw tire pyrolysis oil (rTPO) is a complex mixture whose components exhibit a wide boiling temperature range, reflected in the physicochemical properties influencing injection, combustion, performance, and emission. The present contribution is aimed at producing TPO via steam-assisted pyrolysis followed by its fractionation by vacuum distillation. The resultant TPO fractions were analyzed in terms of composition as well as physicochemical parameters. The products are liquids with a relatively high density, poor volatility, and satisfactory low-temperature properties. They exhibit a mutually similar chemical composition reflected in a roughly the same Watson factor. The dominant components are cyclic and aromatic compounds, as was proven by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry analysis and mid-infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy. Such a characteristic of the TPO fractions opens the way to utilize them either as additives to conventional automotive fuels or for heat and power generation. In particular, the two lightest fractions demonstrate high potential as fuel additives. Among the advantages of the fractionation of rTPO, one of the most important is the effect of the accumulation of sulfur-containing compounds in the highest boiling fractions, namely, vacuum fractionation allowed for reduction of the S content by 69.6 and 43.5 wt % (with regard to the rTPO) for the fractions boiling up to 180 and 180–250 °C, respectively. Thus, fractionation of pyrolysis oils could be used also as an ingenious and effective pretreatment method prior to exact desulfurization.

Due to its adverse impact on health, as well as its global distribution, long atmospheric lifetime and propensity for deposition in the aquatic environment and in living tissue, the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) has classified mercury and its compounds as a severe air quality threat. Such widespread presence of mercury in the environment originates from both natural and anthropogenic sources. Global anthropogenic emission of mercury is evaluated at 2000 Mg year. According to the National Centre for Emissions Management (Pol. KOBiZE) report for 2014, Polish annual mercury emissions amount to approximately 10 Mg. Over 90% of mercury emissions in Poland originate from combustion of coal.The purpose of this paper was to understand mercury behaviour during sub-bituminous coal and lignite combustion for flue gas purification in terms of reduction of emissions by active methods. The average mercury content in Polish sub-bituminous coal and lignite was 103.7 and 443.5 μg kg. The concentration of mercury in flue gases emitted into the atmosphere was 5.3 μg m for sub-bituminous coal and 17.5 μg m for lignite. The study analysed six low-cost sorbents with the average achieved efficiency of mercury removal from 30.6 to 92.9% for sub-bituminous coal and 22.8 to 80.3% for lignite combustion. Also, the effect of coke dust grain size was examined for mercury sorptive properties. The fine fraction of coke dust (CD) adsorbed within 243-277 μg Hg kg, while the largest fraction at only 95 μg Hg kg. The CD fraction < 0.063 mm removed almost 92% of mercury during coal combustion, so the concentration of mercury in flue gas decreased from 5.3 to 0.4 μg Hg m. The same fraction of CD had removed 93% of mercury from lignite flue gas by reducing the concentration of mercury in the flow from 17.6 to 1.2 μg Hg m. The publication also presents the impact of photochemical oxidation of mercury on the effectiveness of Hg vapour removal during combustion of lignite. After physical oxidation of Hg in the flue gas, its effectiveness has increased twofold.

The research presented by the authors in this paper focused on understanding the behavior of mercury during coal combustion and flue gas purification operations. The goal was to determine the flue gas temperature on the mercury emissions limits for the combustion of lignites in the energy sector. The authors examined the process of sorption of mercury from flue gases using fine-grained organic materials. The main objectives of this study were to recommend a low-cost organic adsorbent such as coke dust (CD), corn straw char (CS-400), brominated corn straw char (CS-400-Br), rubber char (RC-600) or granulated rubber char (GRC-600) to efficiently substitute expensive dust-sized activated carbon. The study covered combustion of lignite from a Polish field. The experiment was conducted at temperatures reflecting conditions inside a flue gas purification installation. One of the tested sorbents—tire-derived rubber char that was obtained by pyrolysis—exhibited good potential for Hg0 into Hg2+ oxidation, resulting in enhanced mercury removal from the flue. The char characterization increased elevated bromine content (mercury oxidizing agent) in comparison to the other selected adsorbents. This paper presents the results of laboratory tests of mercury sorption from the flue gases at temperatures of 95, 125, 155 and 185 °C. The average mercury content in Polish lignite was 465 μg·kg−1. The concentration of mercury in flue gases emitted into the atmosphere was 17.8 µg·m−3. The study analyzed five low-cost sorbents with the average achieved efficiency of mercury removal from 18.3% to 96.1% for lignite combustion depending on the flue gas temperature.

and Technology ** Paper was realized as part of statutory work AGH no. 11.11.210.213.

Abstract. Wastes from paper industry are mostly combustible. It is possible to recycle them with energy recovery. These wastes have a high moisture content (up to 60%) and thus a small calorific value. An alternative to waste incineration is the production of solid recovered fuel. The benefits are: easy adjustment of the physical and chemical properties of the fuel (via the change of proportions of ingredients), low moisture and high calorific value. The study involved the following types of cellulose wastes: -Belmer -the rejects from recovered paper, Krofta -deinking sludge, sludge -wastewater treatment sludge, bark -the rejects from virgin pulps. The results of investigations of waste produced in one of the biggest Polish paper mill -are shown. Following aspects were investigated: energy properties, content of carbon, hydrogen, sulfur, chlorine and nitrogen, chemical composition of ash. Authors proposed two formulas of the biomass fuel. The properties of the fuel such as the content of carbon, hydrogen, sulfur, chlorine or nitrogen, the chemical composition of the ash were investigated. Due to the fact that the combustion of the biomass fuel is preferred in view of law regulations (zero CO 2 emission, green certificates) the content of biodegradable fraction was examined. It has been shown that the fuel is a biomass one. Fuel from waste can be a substitute for approx. 25% of primary fuel (coal) used by the paper mill.