Thermal and thermo-catalytic conversion of waste polyolefins to fuel-like mixture of hydrocarbons

Abstract

Results of the investigation of thermal degradation of polyolefins in the laboratory-scale set-up reactors are presented in the paper. Melting and cracking processes were carried out in two different types of reactors at the temperature of 390-420°C. This article presents the results obtained for conversion of polyolefin waste in a reactor with a stirrer. Next, they were compared with the results obtained for the process carried out in a reactor with a molten metal bed, which was described in a previous publication. For both processes, the final product consisted of a gaseous (2-16 % mass) and a liquid (84-98 % mass) part. No solid product was produced. The light, "gasoline" fraction of the liquid hydrocarbons mixture (C 4 -C 10 ) made up over 50% of the liquid product. The overall (vapor) product may be used for electricity generation and the liquid product for fuel production.

Current approaches to waste polymer utilization and minimization: a review

“…Lower temperatures applied during the catalytic process yield faster degradation and a narrower fractional composition of the products. However, the main issue is economic efficiency; commercial catalysts are generally expensive and typically cannot be regenerated …”

“…However, the main issue is economic efficiency; commercial catalysts are generally expensive and typically cannot be regenerated. [42][43][44] There are various methods for chemical recycling. For polymers synthesized via an addition polymerization process, such as polyolefins (PE, PP, PS, PVC, polybutadiene, polyisoprene, etc.…”

Ultrasonic Degradation of Polystyrene for Tailoring Molecular Weight and Polydispersity of Polystyrene Fragments

“…Several methods for tertiary recycling exist, these are gasification, pyrolysis, liquid-gas hydrogenation, steam and catalytic cracking, hydrolysis, glycolysis, methanolysis, aminolysis, ammonolysis, etc. [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. The application of the listed tertiary recycling methods depends especially on the respective synthesis process of the polymer.…”

Catalytic Conversion of Polyolefins in the Presence of MCM-41 Type Mesoporous Materials

“…Steady growth of global plastics production makes plastic waste disposal an extremely urgent problem. Technologies for chemical processing of polymers are being very actively developed now [1][2][3][4][5][6]. Based on analysis of the available literature on modern methods of plastic waste conversion into motor fuels and petrochemical products, the processes of thermal and catalytic cracking, hydroconversion, and polymers metathesis were identified in [2].…”

“…Of particular interest is thermal conversion of polyolefins, affording a fuel-like mixture of hydrocarbons, which allows regarding this class of waste as an nonconventional sources of raw materials for production of fuels and oils.The main degradation product of polyolefins at 500°C is a liquid product with a wide fractional composition, and the gas yield does not exceed 5-7% [2], with the hydrocarbon composition being dependent on the polymer structure and the process temperature [5,[7][8][9]. Polyethylene and polypropylene depolymerization gives mainly unbranched and slightly branched alkanes and a certain amount of C 6 -C 20 olefins [2,[10][11][12][13].…”