Preparation of liquid chemical feedstocks by co-pyrolysis of electronic waste and biomass without formation of polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins

The co-pyrolysis of waste electrical and electronic equipments (WEEEs) and waste biomass to obtain pyrolysis-oil, a liquid fuel or chemical feedstock, was carried out in the present work. The pyrolysis-oil yield of co-pyrolysis reached 62.3% which was significantly higher than those of pyrolysis of WEEEs and biomass alone (i.e., 53.1% for WEEEs and 46.3% for biomass), suggesting that synergistic effects of the WEEEs and biomass happened during the co-pyrolysis process. The pyrolysis-oil mainly contained aromatic compounds, including many aromatic hydrocarbons. More than 90 wt.% of bromides were enriched in pyrolysis-oil and char, which is easily to be recovered by further treatments, and no polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans (PBDD/Fs) were detected in all products which may be attributed to the blocking of PBDD/Fs generation under special reductive environment of pyrolyisis. This work provided a green and environmentally friendly approach for the disposal of the WEEEs as well as resource recovery.