Effect of electromagnetic induction drying on the drying–incineration process of dyeing sludge: focus on migration and conversion of sulfur

Secondary sulfur pollution in dyeing sludge (DS) during drying and incineration is a major environmental problem necessitating in-situ control. To robustly immobilise sulfur during drying–incineration, the authors introduce an electromagnetic induction (EMI) drying method and reveal the corresponding migration and conversion of sulfur in DS. The EMI-drying efficiency reached 10.69%/min, five times that of thermal drying. EMI drying increases the relative sulfoxide ratio from that of thermal drying. In a sludge–sulfur model, the proposed treatment promoted the oxidation and decomposition of organic sulfur without noticeably affecting the inorganic sulfur. The selective oxidation process during EMI drying promotes sulfur stabilisation in dried DS, decreasing the performance and stability of DS combustion. The sulfur-containing pollutants released during the incineration of DS mainly contain H 2 S, followed by CH 3 SH and SO 2 . EMI drying increases the outputs of SO 2 and CH 3 SH but decreases the outputs H 2 S and total sulfur compared with the outputs of thermal drying. Under the sulfur-model conditions, EMI promoted the conversion of inorganic sulfur to sulfur-containing gases (especially H 2 S) during incineration. In contrast, the sulfur stabilised by partial oxidation of organic sulfur in the EMI-dried DS was not easily converted to gaseous sulfur during subsequent combustion. Overall, EMI inhibits the release of sulfur during the combined drying–incineration process of DS.