Chicken Litter Pyrolysis and Composition of Gaseous Products Formed

In this work, a study of chicken litter pyrolysis was carried out in a thermal analyzer in a temperature range from 20 to 905°C at different heating rates of the raw material. Four peaks were obtained in a graph of the temperature dependence of the rate of weight loss. The first and second peaks were associated with the decomposition of plant biomass components; the third peak was due to the decomposition of plant and manure components, and the fourth peak characterized the decomposition of compounds from the mineral part of chicken manure. Spectral analysis of the gaseous products of chicken litter pyrolysis showed that they contained flammable components typical of gaseous products of thermal decomposition of plant biomass. The temperature range of the most intense formation of main carbon-containing compounds was 140–380°C. In addition, nitrogen-containing compounds associated with the decomposition of urea and proteins from chicken manure were found in the volatile components.