Degradation studies of plastic wastes Using thermal catalytic and Microwave processes

Abstract

Profuse plastic consumption has accounted for the tremendous plastic waste generation. Most of the plastic wastes have been disposed in the landfill, which certainly degrade the environment. Moreover, disposal of plastics in the landfill is undesirable, since most of the valuable hydrocarbons present in the plastics are lost. Plastic waste management and recovery of the valuable hydrocarbons can be done through pyrolysis method. Pyrolysis is one of the methods in which its products can be used in fuel production and for chemical feedstock in petrochemical industry. In addition, the liquid oil from pyrolysis can be used as an alternative for fossil fuels. Pyrolysis products are found to possess high gross calorific values, especially the liquid oil has a gross calorific value (GCV) ranging between 43 and 46 MJ kg-1. Degradation of plastic wastes through pyrolysis is one of the best methods to handle plastic wastes. This method is said to be prospective, since it produces valuable liquid oil, residue and gases. Pyrolysis of plastic wastes, is experimented in three different methods, viz., thermal pyrolysis, catalytic pyrolysis and microwave pyrolysis. newlineIn the present study, thermal pyrolysis is conducted with single plastic waste such as expanded polystyrene, polystyrene, polypropylene, low density polyethylene and acrylo nitrile butadiene styrene. Polystyrene waste produce 86.78 wt.% of oil yield at a reaction temperature of 434oC. The studies have been carried out in a batch reactor not only on single plastic waste but also on mixed plastic waste. Polystyrene, polypropylene and low density polyethylene have been selected, to study the effect of polymer to polymer ratio. The products from thermal pyrolysis experiments consist of oil, gas and residue newline