energies-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Heat Transfer Performance and Influencing Factors of Waste Management

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "J1: Heat and Mass Transfer".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 5 January 2026 | Viewed by 432

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Interests: audit and saving evaluation method of energy; strengthening mechanism and technology of heat and mass transfer; recovery and cascade utilization of industrial waste heat
School of Energy and Safety Engineering, Tianjin Chengjian University, Tianjin 300192, China
Interests: research on the strengthening mechanism and technology of heat and mass; thermal management of high-power equipment

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In modern waste management, pyrolysis technology has emerged as a pivotal approach for recycling waste tires, addressing both environmental sustainability and resource recovery challenges. This study focuses on improving heat transfer efficiency and pyrolysis oil yield in a horizontal rotary furnace by systematically investigating the effects of tire particle size, rotary furnace rotation speed, enhanced heat transfer materials, and spiral fin installation on thermal performance and product distribution.

Through experimental analysis, powdered waste tire particles (fine particle size) demonstrated superior heating uniformity during pyrolysis, leading to a notable increase in the overall heat transfer coefficient and the proportion of liquid products. Mechanical agitation via rotational speed was critical: when the speed exceeded 2 rpm, sufficient contact between materials and the furnace wall enhanced heat transfer, with optimal performance observed at 3 rpm. Introducing heat transfer enhancement materials—specifically carborundum and white alundum—significantly improved thermal interaction between the furnace and materials. The highest overall heat transfer coefficient of 16.89 W/(m2·K) and a pyrolysis oil yield of 46.1% were achieved under the combined conditions of 3 rpm, carborundum addition, and powdered particle feedstock.

Structural modifications via spiral fin installation further boosted the comprehensive heat transfer coefficient from 12.78 W/(m2·K) to 16.32 W/(m2·K), highlighting the synergistic effects of mechanical design and material selection. These findings provide critical insights for optimizing rotary furnace operations in waste tire pyrolysis, balancing energy efficiency and product quality for industrial-scale applications.

Prof. Dr. Hongting Ma
Dr. Shuo Ma
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • waste tires
  • pyrolysis oil
  • horizontal rotary furnace
  • heat transfer coefficient

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

20 pages, 3039 KB  
Article
Heat Transfer Performance and Influencing Factors of Waste Tires During Pyrolysis in a Horizontal Rotary Furnace
by Hongting Ma, Yang Bai, Shuo Ma and Zhipeng Zhou
Energies 2025, 18(15), 4028; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18154028 - 29 Jul 2025
Viewed by 344
Abstract
Pyrolysis technology currently serves as a significant method for recycling and reducing waste tires. In this paper, in order to improve the heat transfer efficiency during the pyrolysis of waste tires in a horizontal rotary furnace and the yield of pyrolysis oil, the [...] Read more.
Pyrolysis technology currently serves as a significant method for recycling and reducing waste tires. In this paper, in order to improve the heat transfer efficiency during the pyrolysis of waste tires in a horizontal rotary furnace and the yield of pyrolysis oil, the effect laws of tire particle size, rotary furnace rotation speed, enhanced heat transfer materials, and adding spiral fins on heat transfer performance and pyrolysis product distribution were studied, respectively. The innovation lies in two aspects: first, aiming at the problems of slow heat transfer and low pyrolysis efficiency in horizontal rotary furnaces, we identified technical measures through experiments to enhance heat transfer, thereby accelerating pyrolysis and reducing energy consumption; second, with the goal of increasing high-value pyrolysis oil yield, we determined optimal operating parameters to improve economic and sustainability outcomes. The results showed that powdered particles of waste tires were heated more evenly during the pyrolysis process, which increased the overall heat transfer coefficient and the proportion of liquid products. When the rotational speed of the rotary pyrolysis furnace exceeded 2 rpm, there was sufficient contact between the material and the furnace wall, which was beneficial to the improvement of heat transfer performance. Adding heat transfer enhancement materials such as carborundum and white alundum could improve the heat transfer performance between the pyrolysis furnace and the material. Notably, a rotational speed of 3 rpm and carborundum were used as a heat transfer enhancement material with powdered waste tire particles during the pyrolysis process; the overall heat transfer coefficient was the highest, which was 16.89 W/(m2·K), and the proportion of pyrolysis oil products was 46.1%. When spiral fins were installed, the comprehensive heat transfer coefficient was increased from 12.78 W/(m2·K) to 16.32 W/(m2·K). The experimental results show that by increasing the speed of the pyrolysis furnace, adding heat transfer enhancing materials with high thermal conductivity to waste tires, and appropriate particle size, the heat transfer performance and pyrolysis rate can be improved, and energy consumption can be reduced. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heat Transfer Performance and Influencing Factors of Waste Management)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop