Water contributes mass but not useful fuel value in conventional dry pyrolysis. Heating and evaporating moisture consumes energy before the feedstock itself can reach effective thermochemical-conversion conditions.
Inorganic material does not disappear during thermochemical conversion. Ash-forming minerals and metals can become concentrated, redistributed or transferred into products, particulates and pollution-control residues, affecting process reliability, environmental performance and product use.
A conversion system rarely receives an ideal laboratory feedstock. Sorting, drying, size reduction, contaminant removal and blending are often required to transform variable real-world material into a feedstock the process can handle predictably.
A pyrolysis reactor does not process the word “waste”. It processes a real chemical and physical feedstock containing polymers, water, minerals, metals, additives and contaminants. Composition therefore shapes process performance, products, emissions and energy demand.