Novel photothermal pyrolysis on waste fan blade to generate bisphenol A.

Waste fan blade would explosively grow with the life time of wind power machine is ended. Developing new low carbon-emission method to treat waste fan blade and achieving high resource recovery is promising. In this work, a novel photothermal pyrolysis method was developed and firstly applied to treat waste fan blade. A typical waste fan blade was cut, crushed and screened to separate base material and reinforcing fiber, whose mass ratio was 74.36:25.64. The base material was pyrolyzed at varied conditions of pyrolysis temperature, heating rate, gas flow rate respectively. The study showed that bisphenol A was significantly acquired in tars (relative contents were commonly over 40%), and its generation can be promoted by increasing pyrolysis temperature, heating rate and gas flow rare. The generation mechanism of bisphenol A was revealed during photothermal pyrolysis process: The main chain of 2,2-bis(4-glycidyloxyphenyl)propane resin in base material undergone random or chain cracking reaction to produce bisphenol A rigid skeleton, phenoxy, alkane, hydroxyl and other active groups. Bisphenol A rigid skeleton was the precursor of bisphenol A. Bisphenol A was formed after receiving hydrogen atoms, accompanied by the formation of tetrahydrofuran, 4,4-(propane-2,2-diyl)bis(methoxybenzene) and other substances. Bisphenol A undergone decomposition via secondary reactions, and it was mainly decomposed into phenol and 4-isopropylphenol, 4-isopropylphenol was then dehydrogenated to produce 4-isopropenylphenol. • Waste fan blade was firstly pyrolyzed using novel photothermal pyrolysis system. • High yield and relative content of bisphenol A was detected in pyrolytic oil. • Generation mechanism of bisphenol A during photothermal pyrolysis was revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]