Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Experimental Study of Thermal and Catalytic Pyrolysis of Plastic Waste Components

Version 1 : Received: 10 October 2018 / Approved: 10 October 2018 / Online: 10 October 2018 (15:23:03 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Anene, A.F.; Fredriksen, S.B.; Sætre, K.A.; Tokheim, L.-A. Experimental Study of Thermal and Catalytic Pyrolysis of Plastic Waste Components. Sustainability 2018, 10, 3979. Anene, A.F.; Fredriksen, S.B.; Sætre, K.A.; Tokheim, L.-A. Experimental Study of Thermal and Catalytic Pyrolysis of Plastic Waste Components. Sustainability 2018, 10, 3979.

Abstract

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.

Keywords

Thermal pyrolysis; catalytic pyrolysis; TGA; plastics; HDPE; LDPE; gasoline; diesel; catalyst

Subject

Chemistry and Materials Science, Polymers and Plastics

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