Experimental Study of Thermal and Catalytic Pyrolysis of Plastic Waste Components

Thermal and catalytic pyrolysis of virgin low-density polyethylene (LDPE), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polypropylene (PP) and mixtures of LDPE/PP were carried out in a 200 ml laboratory scale batch reactor at 460 °C in a nitrogen atmosphere. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was carried out to study the thermal and catalytic degradation of the polymers at a heating rate of 10 °C/min. The amount of PP was varied in the LDPE/PP mixture to explore its effect on the reaction. In thermal degradation (TGA) of LDPE/PP blends, a lower decomposition temperature was observed for LDPE/PP mixtures compared to pure LDPE, indicating interaction between the two polymer types. In the presence of a catalyst (CAT-2), the degradation temperatures for the pure polymers were reduced. The TGA results were validated in a batch reactor using PP and LDPE respectively. Thermal cracking results showed that the oil product contains a significant amount of gasoline (C7 − C12) and diesel (C13 − C20) hydrocarbon fractions. The catalyst enhanced cracking at lower temperatures and narrowed the hydrocarbon distribution in the oil towards the gasoline range fraction (C7 – C12). The result suggests that the oil produced from catalytic pyrolysis of waste plastics has a potential as an alternative fuel.

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Experimental Study of Thermal and Catalytic Pyrolysis of Plastic Waste Components

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su10113979 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (11) ◽

pp. 3979 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Azubuike Anene ◽

Siw Fredriksen ◽

Kai Sætre ◽

Lars-Andre Tokheim

Keyword(s):

High Density Polyethylene ◽

Catalytic Pyrolysis ◽

Batch Reactor ◽

Decomposition Temperature ◽

Nitrogen Atmosphere ◽

Waste Plastics ◽

Molecular Weight Range ◽

Thermal Pyrolysis ◽

Pp Blends ◽

Hydrocarbon Distribution

Thermal and catalytic pyrolysis of virgin low-density polyethylene (LDPE), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polypropylene (PP) and mixtures of LDPE/PP were carried out in a 200 mL laboratory scale batch reactor at 460 °C in a nitrogen atmosphere. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was carried out to study the thermal and catalytic degradation of the polymers at a heating rate of 10 °C/min. The amount of PP was varied in the LDPE/PP mixture to explore its effect on the reaction. In thermal degradation (TGA) of LDPE/PP blends, a lower decomposition temperature was observed for LDPE/PP mixtures compared to pure LDPE, indicating interaction between the two polymer types. In the presence of a catalyst (CAT-2), the degradation temperatures for the pure polymers were reduced. The TGA results were validated in a batch reactor using PP and LDPE, respectively. The result from thermal pyrolysis showed that the oil product contained significant amounts of hydrocarbons in the ranges of C7–C12 (gasoline range) and C13–C20 (diesel range). The catalyst enhanced cracking at lower temperatures and narrowed the hydrocarbon distribution in the oil towards the lower molecular weight range (C7–C12). The result suggests that the oil produced from catalytic pyrolysis of waste plastics has a potential as an alternative fuel.

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Application of highly stable biochar catalysts for efficient pyrolysis of plastics: a readily accessible potential solution to a global waste crisis

Sustainable Energy & Fuels ◽

10.1039/d0se00652a ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (9) ◽

pp. 4614-4624

Author(s):

Chenxi Wang ◽

Hanwu Lei ◽

Moriko Qian ◽

Erguang Huo ◽

Yunfeng Zhao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Corn Stover ◽

Catalytic Pyrolysis ◽

Douglas Fir ◽

Low Density Polyethylene ◽

Low Density ◽

Waste Plastics ◽

Potential Solution

Biochar catalysts derived from corn stover and Douglas fir were employed for the catalytic pyrolysis of model low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and real waste plastics.

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Catalytic Pyrolysis of Low Density Polyethylene Using Cetyltrimethyl Ammonium Encapsulated Monovacant Keggin UnitsC19H42N4H3(PW11O39)and ZSM-5

Journal of Chemistry ◽

10.1155/2016/2857162 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2016 ◽

pp. 1-5 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Madeeha Batool ◽

Asma Tufail Shah ◽

Muhammad Imran Din ◽

Baoshan Li

Keyword(s):

High Temperature ◽

Thermal Degradation ◽

Catalytic Cracking ◽

Catalytic Pyrolysis ◽

Batch Reactor ◽

Low Density Polyethylene ◽

Low Density ◽

Hydrophobic Nature ◽

Cetyltrimethyl Ammonium

The effect of the catalysts on the pyrolysis of commercial low density polyethylene (LDPE) has been studied in a batch reactor. The thermal catalytic cracking of the LDPE has been done using cetyltrimethyl ammonium encapsulated monovacant keggin units (C19H42N)4H3(PW11O39), labeled as CTA-POM and compared with the ZSM-5 catalyst. GC-MS results showed that catalytic cracking of LDPE beads generated oilier fraction over CTA-POM as compared to ZSM-5. Thus, the use of CTA-POM is more significant because it yields more useful fraction. It was also found that the temperature required for the thermal degradation of LDPE was lower when CTA-POM was used as a catalyst while high temperature was required for degradation over ZSM-5 catalyst. Better activity of CTA-POM was due to hydrophobic nature of CTA moiety which helps in catalyst mobility and increases its interaction with hydrocarbons.

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