A study on copyrolysis and heating value of wood chip composites as cogeneration plant fuel

Polystyrene (PS)/wood chip (WC) composites (PS/WC) were prepared by solution mixing method and the effect of polystyrene on thermal characteristics of WC was investigated with different PS/WC ratios. The copyrolysis and heating value of the PS/WC were determined by thermogravimetric analyzer and calorimeter, respectively. From the results, the PS/WC revealed copyrolysis features in the range of 360–440 °C compared to WC and PS and exhibited high heating value over about 5000 kcal/kg at low PS content (PS/WC = 2/8). These results were attributed to the combination effect by interaction between polystyrene and wood chip.