Organic compounds produced during the thermal decomposition of cotton fabrics

Used cotton fabrics, which can be considered a biomass according to its origin, were descomposed thermically in a laboratory scale reactor through a set of runs carried out in inert and air atmospheres, with temperatures between 650 and 1050 degrees C. More than 90 compounds, including carbon oxides, light hydrocarbons, and PAHs, have been identified and quantified. In the gas phase some of the main components obtained were methane, ethene, and benzene. The main semivolatile compounds detected were styrene, phenol, naphthalene, acenaphthylene, and phenanthrene. Furthermore, analyses of PCDD/Fs in the material tested and in the semivolatile compounds produced during the combustion at 850 degrees C were also performed, obtaining values of 14.5 (sample) and 7.2 pg I-TEQ/g (combustion). The congener that mostly contributes to the total I-TEQ was 2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF. The results obtained show that this waste could be used as biomass, and in this way, it is a valid alternative to disposal in landfills.