Evaluation on gasification performance of waste tires based on chemical equilibrium analysis and ReaxFF-MD simulation
摘要
The global production of waste tires (WTs) has encountered a considerable challenge in terms of disposal and recycling due to their highly resistant nature to biological and chemical degradation. Gasification emerges as a promising option for the effective recycling of WTs. The gasification of WTs was evaluated based on chemical equilibrium analysis in terms of reaction temperature (773–1273 K) and two atmospheres (oxygen: at equivalence ratio (ER) of 0.05–0.2; steam: at ER of 0.3–0.6). Elevating temperature enhanced the formation of H2 and CO in gasification of WTs. Increasing the oxygen concentration facilitated CO production but inhibited H2 generation, whereas raising the steam concentration promoted the synthesis of both H2 and CO. In addition, the temperature-dependent influence on the degradation efficiency and the distribution of gaseous products from styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) was determined at the molecular level based on reactive force field molecular dynamics (ReaxFF-MD) simulations and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Subsequently, the optimal reaction pathways for the gaseous products H2 and CO were delineated, yielding maximum SBR degradation efficiencies of 67.03% for weak oxygen gasification and 68.46% for steam gasification. This study could provide basic data for the gasification of waste tires.