Thermogravimetry as a tool to classify waste components to be used for energy generation

In this paper, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) is utilised to investigate pyrolysis of individual waste components and waste mixtures. Based on the measured weight loss characteristics, single waste components are divided into three classes: low stability organic, lignocellulosic and plastic materials. In order to calculate the composition of an unknown waste mixture, it is assumed that the thermal degradation curve of a mixture is obtained as a sum of the contributions of the corresponding single components. It is investigated whether this assumption holds for cellulosic, polymer and real waste mixtures. The paper demonstrates that the weighed sum method can provide an indication of the mixture composition.