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An Integrated Pyrolysis Approach for Hydrogen Production and Microplastic Elimination from Sewage Sludge Experimental and Analytical Perspectives [dataset] Open Access

Municipal sewage sludge, a byproduct of wastewater treatment processes, is increasingly recognized as a reservoir of microplastics (MP), posing environmental risks to soil and water systems. This study evaluates pyrolysis as an integrated solution for recovering hydrogen-rich syngas and eliminating MPs from sewage sludge. The sludge, sourced from a wastewater treatment facility in the United Kingdom, was pre-treated through conditioning and drying before being thermochemically converted at 800 °C. Varying the auger speed revealed that slower speeds significantly improved hydrogen output, reaching up to 41 vol%, primarily due to extended gas residence time that favours secondary reforming and cracking reactions. Quantitative analysis of MPs showed a significant reduction, from an initial concentration of 53.7 ± 7.2 MPs/g in dried sludge to undetectable levels in the resulting biochar. Morphological characterization identified fragments (46.2%) and fibres (41.9%) as dominant MP types, with further evaluation of their size and colour profiles. FTIR spectroscopy confirmed the presence of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in untreated sludge and the absence of plastic-related signals in post-pyrolysis samples. The results highlight pyrolysis as a promising method for concurrent clean energy recovery and microplastic remediation, offering practical guidance for advancing circular economy goals and sustainable waste-to-hydrogen pathways.

Descriptions

Resource type

Dataset

Contributors

Creator: Vijayalakshmi, Shivaprasad ¹
Data collector: Vijayalakshmi, Shivaprasad ¹
Editor: Vijayalakshmi, Shivaprasad ¹
Data curator: Abdullah Malik ¹
Data curator: Wang, Yaodong ¹
Data collector: Charles, Wilde ¹
Data curator: Charles, Wilde ¹
Data curator: Bao, Huashan ¹
Data curator: Roskilly, Anthony ¹

¹ Durham University, UK

Funder

Innovate UK

Research methods

Other description

Keyword

Sewage Sludge
Pyrolysis
Hydrogen
Microplastics
Spectroscopy

Subject

Sewage sludge
Pyrolysis
Microplastics

Location

Language

Cited in

Identifier

ark:/32150/r2k0698758q
doi:10.15128/r2k0698758q

Rights

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY)

Publisher

Durham University

Date Created

File Details

Depositor

S.K. Vijayalakshmi

Date Uploaded

11 March 2026, 14:03:06

Date Modified

11 March 2026, 16:03:01

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Characterization

File format: vnd.ms-excel (Microsoft Excel 2007+, OpenDocument Text)

Mime type: application/vnd.ms-excel

File size: 10307

Last modified: 2026:03:11 14:37:15+00:00

Filename: Dataset_An Integrated Pyrolysis Approach for Hydrogen Production and Microplastic Elimination from Sewage Sludge Experimental and Analytical Perspectives.xlsx

Original checksum: 7b062fa65f428b7120dcb9330f0a66b9