Pyrolysis characteristics and non-isothermal torrefaction kinetics of industrial solid wastes

[Display omitted] •Pyrolysis and non-isothermal torrefaction of two industrial solid wastes are analyzed.•The pyrolysis of the wastes are characterized by three different decomposition stages.•PVC waste is more suitable for non-isothermal torrefaction at a low heating rate.•An independent parallel reaction model is developed to predict the torrefaction dynamics.•Waste thermodegradation is well predicted with an assumption of two components. Due to low degradability and high risks of toxic emissions, thermochemical conversions of plastics and textile among industrial solid wastes (ISWs) into biofuels are more favorable compared with common waste treatment options such as landfilling and burning. In this study, pyrolysis and non-isothermal torrefaction characteristics of two representative ISWs including PVC and oil cloth wastes are investigated using a thermogravimetric analyzer to understand their thermodegradation behaviors. The results show that the pyrolysis of the ISWs are characterized by three different decomposition stages. A high heating rate is more energy efficient for non-isothermal torrefaction of oil cloth waste, whereas PVC waste is more suitable for non-isothermal torrefaction at a low heating rate. An independent parallel reaction (IPR) model is developed to predict the non-isothermal torrefaction dynamics of the wastes. It is found that the thermodegradation can be well predicted with an assumption of two components. Furthermore, the extracted kinetic data show that the kinetic parameters of an ISW component are much higher than those of common woody and algal biomass.