Study on pyrolysis behavior and kinetics of waste plastics with spent FCC catalyst

Pyrolysis is the most promising method for treating plastic waste since it can convert waste plastics into high value-added products, which have significant application potential. In this study, kinetic and thermodynamic analyses of spent fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) catalysts were performed for testing their applicability in catalytic cracking of mixed plastics. Thermogravimetric analysis data were obtained at different heating rates under an inert atmosphere, and the synergistic effect between the mixed plastics and activation energy reduction before and after pretreatment of the spent FCC catalysts was discussed. Through a variety of model-free methods (Flynn-Wall-Ozawa, Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose, Starink, and Kissinger methods), it is proved that the spent FCC catalyst facilitates the reduction in activation energy required for the pyrolysis of plastics, which is reduced by approximately 13% from 278 to 242 kJ/mol. The catalytic performance of spent FCC catalyst was improved after pretreatment, while its activation energy decreased by approximately 21% from 278 to 220 kJ/mol. The Friedman-Reich-Levi method was used to fit the curve, and the number of mechanism functions in plastic pyrolysis was determined according to the slope of the fitting curve. The C-R method was used in combination with the Malek method to determine the optimal mechanism function. Moreover, kinetic parameters of the spent FCC catalyst for catalytic cracking of plastics were obtained via kinetic studies on the pyrolysis of mixed plastics, which provided theoretical guidance for industrialization of plastic pyrolysis.     

Bibliometric analysis and an overview of the application of the non-precious materials for pyrolysis reaction of plastic waste

Huge plastic consumption and depletion of fossil fuels are at the top of the world's environmental and energy challenges. The scientific community has tackled these issues through different approaches. Catalytic pyrolysis of plastic wastes to valuable products has been proved as a sustainable route which fits with the circular economy aspects. The design of catalytic materials is the central factor for performing the catalytic conversion of plastic wastes. This review aims to conduct a Bibliometric analysis of the pyrolysis of plastic wastes and non-precious-based catalysts by mapping research studies over the last fifty years. The analysis was developed via VOSviewer and RStudio tools. It showed the historical progress regarding plastic waste pyrolysis to produce valuable products and chemicals worldwide. The research shows that the top five countries with the highest citations and publications in this field were Spain, China, England, the USA and India. The Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis had the most comprehensive coverage of plastic waste. The relationship between the catalyst and the mechanism of plastic waste can influence the production yield and selectivity. The research gap and underrepresented research topics were identified, and previous research studies on developing non-precious-based catalysts that were most relevant to the current topic were reviewed and discussed. The challenges and perspectives on catalyst preparation and development for material complexity were critically discussed. Challenges of previous studies and directions for future research were provided. This report might guide the reader to take a general look at plastic waste valorization by pyrolysis and easily understand the main challenges.     

Recent Trends in the Pyrolysis of Non-Degradable Waste Plastics

Waste plastics are non-degradable constituents that can stay in the environment for centuries. Their large land space consumption is unsafe to humans and animals. Concomitantly, the continuous engineering of plastics, which causes depletion of petroleum, poses another problem since they are petroleum-based materials. Therefore, energy recovering trough pyrolysis is an innovative and sustainable solution since it can be practiced without liberating toxic gases into the atmosphere. The most commonly used plastics, such as HDPE, LDPE (high- and low-density polyethylene), PP (polypropylene), PS (polystyrene), and, to some extent, PC (polycarbonate), PVC (polyvinyl chloride), and PET (polyethylene terephthalate), are used for fuel oil recovery through this process. The oils which are generated from the wastes showed caloric values almost comparable with conventional fuels. The main aim of the present review is to highlight and summarize the trends of thermal and catalytic pyrolysis of waste plastic into valuable fuel products through manipulating the operational parameters that influence the quality or quantity of the recovered results. The properties and product distribution of the pyrolytic fuels and the depolymerization reaction mechanisms of each plastic and their byproduct composition are also discussed.     

不同活性炭负载的镍基催化剂上废塑料裂解制碳纳米管性能

以椰壳炭、竹炭和木炭三种活性炭为载体,采用浸渍法制备炭负载金属镍的催化剂,考察其在废塑料裂解制备碳纳米管过程中的催化反应性能;采用X射线衍射、扫描电镜、透射电镜、拉曼光谱仪、同步热分析仪、比表面积分析仪等手段分析了催化剂和产物碳纳米管的形貌和结构。结果表明,椰壳活性炭为载体制备的镍基催化剂上碳纳米管产量最高、石墨化程度最好。以椰壳活性炭为载体制备的镍基催化剂为例,研究了反应温度和镍负载量对其催化性能的影响。     

Combined Chemical Activation and Fenton Degradation to Convert Waste Polyethylene into High‐Value Fine Chemicals

Plastic waste is a valuable organic resource. However, proper technologies to recover usable materials from plastic are still very rare. Although the conversion/cracking/degradation of certain plastics into chemicals has drawn much attention, effective and selective cracking of the major waste plastic polyethylene is extremely difficult, with degradation of C?C/C?H bonds identified as the bottleneck. Pyrolysis, for example, is a nonselective degradation method used to crack plastics, but it requires a very high energy input. To solve the current plastic pollution crisis, more effective technologies are needed for converting plastic waste into useful substances that can be fed into the energy cycle or used to produce fine chemicals for industry. In this study, we demonstrate a new and effective chemical approach by using the Fenton reaction to convert polyethylene plastic waste into carboxylic acids under ambient conditions. Understanding the fundamentals of this new chemical process provides a possible protocol to solve global plastic‐waste problems.     

Analysis of products from the pyrolysis of plastics recovered from the commercial scale recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment

Three plastic fractions from a commercial waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) processing plant were collected and investigated for the possibility of recycling them by batch pyrolysis. The first plastic was from equipment containing cathode ray tubes (CRTs), the second plastic was from refrigeration equipment, and the third plastic was from mixed WEEE. Initially, the decomposition of each of the plastics was investigated using a TGA linked to a FT-ir spectrometer which showed that the CRT plastic decomposed to form aliphatic and aromatic compounds, the refrigerator plastic decomposed to form aldehydes, CO₂, aromatic, and aliphatic compounds, and the mixed WEEE plastic decomposed to form aromatic and aliphatic compounds, CO₂, and CO. Each plastic mixture was also pyrolysed in a batch reactor to determine the halogen and metal content of the pyrolysis products, additionally, characterisation of the pyrolysis oils was carried out by GC–MS and the pyrolysis gases by GC–FID and GC–TCD. It was found that the halogen content of the oils was relatively low but the halogen and metal content of the chars was high. The pyrolysis oils were found to contain valuable chemical products and the pyrolysis gases were mainly halogen free, making them suitable as a fuel.     

Prerequisites for successful recycling of polymer waste

An increasing awareness of ecological problems will enhance all activities towards recycling of polymers. In other words, we have to expect a fast increasing amount of recycled polymers. Today, most activities concentrate on the economical feasible part of recycling - waste of higher prized plastics, only slightly contaminated plastic waste. Public pressure and legislation request solutions for heavily contaminated commodity plastics from household waste as well. The strategy to produce thick walled, profiles out of comingled plastics will be a contribution towards, but not the solution of the problem. We have to make the serious attempt to separate specific polymers like PE, PS, PET from the waste and to introduce these recyclates into the plastic market. In other words, we have to establish closed loops for all our products. Tremendous problems lay ahead of us in order to accomplish it. We need markets for recyclate, we have to change specifications accordingly, we have to improve existing technologies for work up, we have to develop “raw material” specifications when we turn waste in an economic good, we have to develop scenarios for unsufficient economics. The paper will deal with all these aspects in detail and will discuss the present situation in Germany.     

Converting Waste Plastic to Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers

The accumulation of waste plastics in landfills and the environment, as well as the contribution of plastics manufacturing to global warming, call for the development of new technologies that would enable circularity for synthetic polymers. Thus far, emerging approaches for chemical recycling of plastics have largely focused on producing fuels, lubricants, and/or monomers. In a recent study, Junde Wei and colleagues demonstrated a new catalytic system capable of converting oxygen-containing aromatic plastic waste into liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs), which can be used for hydrogen storage. The authors utilized Ru−ReO_x/SiO₂ materials with zeolite HZSM-5 as a co-catalyst for the direct hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of oxygen-containing aromatic plastic wastes that yield cycloalkanes as LOHCs with a theoretical hydrogen capacity of ≈5.74 wt % under mild reaction conditions. Subsequent efficiency and stability tests of cycloalkane dehydrogenation over Pt/Al₂O₃ validated that the HDO products can serve as LOHCs to generate H₂ gas. Overall, their approach not only opens doors to alleviating the severe burden of plastic waste globally, but also offers a way to generate clean energy and ease the challenges associated with hydrogen storage and transportation.     

Polymer and its effect on environment

This is an era where plastic pollution is increasing hazardously. Plastics are spreading all over the environment due to this it's a big threat to the equilibrium of the environment and health of the human beings. Its not due to their properties but it is also a strong carrier of pesticides, poly aromatic hydrocarbons, diphenyl, pharmaceutical products etc. Majorly plastics are being used everywhere like in packaging, water bottles etc. We have about to reach the stage where we require to produce biodegradable or recyclable plastic. It reduces the usage of oil, CO₂ emission and reduces the quantity of waste to be disposed. Phthalates, BPA and others should be banned in plastic products which are in direct contact with food, children and bio-degradable plastics should be more used. Our study focused on varieties of plastics, its hazardous impact on the environment especially on the environment, its recycling strategies and use of biodegradable materials.     

Modeling pyrolysis kinetics of plastic mixtures

Modeling pyrolysis behavior of waste plastic mixtures is of importance for design and operation of reactors which convert these waste plastics into valuable chemicals. However, because of limited understanding of their degradation behavior even for single component plastic wastes, modeling degradation kinetics of plastic mixtures is a challenging task.In this work, we report modeling of binary and ternary mixture degradation kinetics of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), low density polyethylene (LDPE) and polypropylene (PP). A simple mixing rule approach was used with one cross-kinetic degradation parameter per each binary. Ternary kinetics were completely predictive and showed good agreement with the experimental data.     

废旧塑料改性再生的研究进展

塑料制品作为一种全球范围内广泛使用的商品,几乎已经渗透到了人类生活中的各个方面.同时,快速累积的废旧塑料对陆地和海洋环境产生了一系列的负面影响.值得注意的是,废旧塑料具有资源和废物双重属性.废旧塑料的回收品质和数量的提高,对于资源的高效利用、可持续发展和环境保护具有重大意义.本文介绍了废旧塑料常用的分选方法,综述了近年...     

Thermal degradation of polyethylene and polystyrene from the packaging industry over different catalysts into fuel-like feed stocks

Thermal degradation of waste polymers was carried out as a suitable technique for converting plastic polymers into liquid hydrocarbons, which could be used as feed stock materials. The catalytic degradation of waste plastics (polyethylene and polystyrene) was investigated in a batch reactor over different catalysts (FCC, ZSM-5 and clinoptillolite). The effects of catalysts and their average grain size on the properties of main degradation products (gases, gasoline, diesel oil) are discussed. The temperature range of 410-450 °C was used in the process. Both equilibrium FCC catalyst and natural clinoptilolite zeolite catalyst had good catalytic activity to produce light hydrocarbon liquids, and ZSM-5 catalyst produced the highest amount of gaseous products. Gases and liquids formed in cracking reactions were analyzed by gas chromatography. The liquid products consisted of a wide spectrum of hydrocarbons distributed within the C₅-C₂₈ carbon number range depending on the cracking parameters. The composition of hydrocarbons had linear non-branched structure in case of polyethylene, while from polystyrene more aromatics (ethyl-benzene, styrene, toluene, and benzene) were produced. The yields of volatile products increased with increasing degradation temperature. The olefin content of liquids was measured with an infrared technique and an olefin concentration of 50-60% was observed. The concentration of unsaturated compounds increased with decreasing temperature, and in the presence of catalysts. The activation energies were calculated on the basis of the composition of volatile products. The apparent activation energies were decreased by catalysts and catalyst caused both carbon-chain and double bond isomerisation.     

废弃塑料光催化转化制备低碳数有机化合物

大量废弃塑料引发了一系列的环境和生态问题,其转化和利用一直受到广泛关注.塑料中含有丰富的碳元素,但这些碳元素往往以惰性的C–C键和C–H键形式存在,因此如何利用这些碳资源成为一大难题和挑战.以往部分研究已经提供了塑料催化转化制备碳材料、化学品和燃料的可能性,但是自然界中的废弃塑料总量庞大,需要考虑其转化过程中的能量来源.地球上有丰富的太阳能资源,光催化过程有可能利用太阳能来实现温和条件下的废弃塑料转化.在以往的研究中,光催化塑料降解和光催化塑料重整过程主要关注的目标产物分别是CO₂和H₂.相较而言,光催化塑料转化制备低碳数有机化合物的过程有望助力碳循环经济的发展.近年来报道了一些光催化塑料转化制备低碳数有机化合物的研究工作,这些研究为获取和利用塑料中的碳资源提供了新的研究思路和策略.本文概括对比了光催化塑料降解、光催化塑料重整和光催化塑料转化制备低碳数有机化合物三种过程的差异,包括其中的目标产物和相应的反应活性物种.此外,本文总结了光催化塑料转化制备低碳数化合物的反应方法.简要地说,塑料可以经过光催化选择性氧化、氧化偶联和水解脱氢等策略来得到低碳数的化学品和燃料,涉及利用光催化氧化过程断裂塑料中的C–C键,利用水解过程断裂塑料的C–N和C–O键,以及利用光催化脱氢过程断裂中间产物的O–H键和N–H键等关键步骤.在光催化塑料转化到低碳数有机产物的文献报道中,主要涉及液固相反应体系和反应器,需要考虑反应溶剂的选择.水是理想的溶剂,但对塑料的溶解能力有限.当使用其他有机溶剂时,需要利用同位素标记实验验证产物中的碳物种来源.此外,实际废弃塑料上残留的其他杂质会影响光催化剂的吸光过程,降低光催化反应效率,因此亟需设计和开发合理的光反应器来提高对光能的利用率,实现塑料的高效转化.虽然塑料制备低碳数化学品和燃料的光催化转化策略已有研究报道,但未来仍需探索更加高效的转化路线.此外,塑料主要呈现高分子聚合物的结构,未来的研究可以借鉴对生物质等天然聚合物分子的转化策略.     

Recycling technology of poly(ethylene terephthalate) materials

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) has become one of major post consumer plastics wastes, in addition to polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS) and poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC). The challenge to large-volume plastics companies is to learn how to collect, separate, reprocess and market their low-cost products and make a profit, too. The effort of PET recycling, however, is the most successful story in the plastic recycling technology, including both reclaim and upgrade of PET waste. Beverage bottles made of PET are recycled more than 20% of the total production. The technology of today can reclaim the post-consumer PET bottles to produce high-quality granulated PET with better than 99% purity. A practical reclaim process for recycling PET bottles (including bottle, HDPE base cup, aluminum cap, liner, label and adhesive) is available by the Center for Plastics Recycling Research in USA. PET recycling process, like for other plastics, can be divided into three categories: incineration, physical recycling, and chemical recycling. To make the plastic recycling business pay requires more than simple recovery and marketing. Greatest profit potential is in upgraded and value-added reclaim products. Upgrading involves compounding with additives to make material more processable, adding reinforcement, or producing extrusions or finished parts from reclaim resins. For instance, a modified injection-moldable resin made from PET bottle scrap is claimed to provide high impact and processability at less cost than competitive materials. It is foreseen that chemical recycling of waste PET bottle becomes feasible if the price of raw material goes up. Three economical processes are involved in this technology: pyrolysis, hydrocracking, and hydrolysis. The hydrolysis process is presently employed to recover the raw material for unsaturated polyester resin manufacture or polyols for the production of polyurethane resin. It is reported in this presentation that polymer concrete could be a huge potential market for chemical reclaim of PET materials, especially for green or mixed-color PET, which are priced lower than colorless PET reclaim materials.     

Production and Analysis of the Physicochemical Properties of the Pyrolytic Oil Obtained from Pyrolysis of Different Thermoplastics and Plastic Mixtures

The constant search for the proper management of non-degradable waste in conjunction with the circular economy makes the thermal pyrolysis of plastics an important technique for obtaining products with industrial interest. The present study aims to produce pyrolytic oil from thermoplastics and their different mixtures in order to determine the best performance between these and different mixtures, as well as to characterize the liquid fraction obtained to analyze its use based on said properties. This was carried out in a batch type reactor at a temperature of 400 °C for both individual plastics and their mixtures, from which the yields of the different fractions are obtained. The liquid fraction of interest is characterized by gas chromatography and its properties are characterized by ASTM standards. The product of the pyrolysis of mixtures of 75% polystyrene and 25% polypropylene presents a yield of 82%, being the highest, with a viscosity of 1.12 cSt and a calorific power of 42.5 MJ/kg, which has a composition of compounds of carbon chains ranging between C6 and C20, for which it is proposed as a good additive agent to conventional fuels for industrial use.     

Process Simulation and Life Cycle Assessment of Waste Plastics: A Comparison of Pyrolysis and Hydrocracking

Pyrolysis and hydrocracking of plastic waste can produce valuable products with manageable effects on the environment as compared to landfilling and incineration. This research focused on the process simulation and life cycle assessment of the pyrolysis and hydrocracking of high-density polyethylene. Aspen Plus was used as the simulator and the Peng-Robinson thermodynamic model was employed as a fluid package. Additionally, sensitivity analysis was conducted in order to optimize product distribution. Based on the simulation, the hydrocracking process produced value-added fuels, i.e., gasoline and natural gas. In contrast, pyrolysis generated a significant quantity of pyrolysis oil with a high number of cyclo-compounds and char, which are the least important to be utilized as fuels. Moreover, in the later part of the study, life cycle assessment (LCA) was adopted in order to investigate and quantify their impact upon the environment using simulation inventory data, which facilitates finding a sustainable process. Simapro was used as a tool for LCA of the processes and materials used. The results demonstrate that hydrocracking is a better process in terms of environmental impact in 10 out of the 11 impact categories. Overall, the present study proposed a promising comparison based on energy demands, product distribution, and potential environmental impacts, which will help to improve plastic waste management.     

基于热重红外联用分析的PE、PS、PVC热解机理研究

利用TGA-FTIR联用技术考察了PE、PS、PVC三种典型塑料的热解特性。结果表明,热稳定性从弱到强依次为PVC、PS、PE。PE热解反应过程为典型的一段式反应,红外光谱分析结果表明,PE热解过程为无规则断链形式,生成产物成分复杂,且随热解过程而改变,开始以饱和烃基团为主,中后期以烯烃基团为主,同时有少量炔烃;PS热解过程同样为一段式反应,红外光谱显示主要热解产物为苯乙烯单体,说明热解过程主要是苯乙烯的解聚过程;PVC热解过程较为复杂,主要分为脱氯阶段和共轭多烯重构阶段,红外光谱结果表明,产物中有芳香族化合物。脱氯过程和共轭多烯重构、环化过程在时间和空间上有重合,给二噁英类污染物的生成制造了可能。     

利用焦化工艺处理废塑料技术研究 Ⅰ. 热天平与10 g固定床实验

利用热天平和10 g固定床反应器分别考察了北京市生活垃圾中的废塑料与首钢炼焦配煤的热失重特性及热解产物分布规律。实验研究表明，首钢炼焦配煤主要热分解温度区域为300 ℃～750 ℃，北京市废塑料主要热分解温度区域为300 ℃～550 ℃，二者在相互重叠的失重温度区间产生“协同效应”，且在一定配比范围内，共热解产物出现 “增油减水”现象。首次提出了协同效应强度的概念及其计算式： 和 ，并得出废塑料的添加量为1％时，协同效应强度最大。     

A comparison of different analytical techniques (energy dispersive X-ray fluorescent spectrometry, bomb calorimetry combined with ion chromatography and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry) for the determination of the bromine and antimony content of samples

In recent years, there has been intensive research into the use of pyrolysis to process toxic plastics from waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). During pyrolysis, the fate of the bromine and antimony content of the plastics is critical therefore, new and improved analytical techniques for analysing these elements in the pyrolysis products are being sought. In this work, the effectiveness of energy dispersive x-ray fluorescent spectrometry (EDXRFS) for the determination of bromine and antimony content of pyrolysis oils from waste electrical and electronic equipment have been tested. Samples were obtained by the pyrolysis of brominated high-impact polystyrene (Br-HIPS) and brominated acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (Br-ABS) at temperatures from 360 to 440 °C. The concentration range of both the bromine and antimony in the samples was very broad (0.05-17.94 wt% and 0.03-8.54 wt% respectively). The results from EDXRFS to those of more traditional and time consuming methods; bomb calorimetry combined with ion chromatography (EPA method 5050) for bromine and acid digestion combined with inductively coupled plasma-optical absorption spectrometry for antimony were compared.Based on our measurements, different statistical parameters were calculated for each analytical technique, which demonstrated that EDXRFS had been successfully applied to the determination of bromine and antimony concentration in the pyrolysis oils of Br-HIPS and Br-ABS. Errors resulting from matrix effects did occur, in particular correlations were found between the nitrogen content of the samples and the difference in bromine and antimony measured by EDXRFS and other methods (ion-chromatography and ICP-OES). However, these differences were found to be statistically insignificant, so we could conclude that EDXRFS is a suitable technique for analysing the bromine and antimony content of pyrolysis oils.     

Entrained Flow Gasification of Polypropylene Pyrolysis Oil

Petrochemical products could be produced from circular feedstock, such as waste plastics. Most plants that utilize syngas in their production are today equipped with entrained flow gasifiers, as this type of gasifier generates the highest syngas quality. However, feeding of circular feedstocks to an entrained flow gasifier can be problematic. Therefore, in this work, a two-step process was studied, in which polypropylene was pre-treated by pyrolysis to produce a liquid intermediate that was easily fed to the gasifier. The products from both pyrolysis and gasification were thoroughly characterized. Moreover, the product yields from the individual steps, as well as from the entire process chain, are reported. It was estimated that the yields of CO and H₂ from the two-step process were at least 0.95 and 0.06 kg per kg of polypropylene, respectively, assuming that the pyrolysis liquid and wax can be combined as feedstock to an entrained flow gasifier. On an energy basis, the energy content of CO and H₂ in the produced syngas corresponded to approximately 40% of the energy content of the polypropylene raw material. This is, however, expected to be significantly improved on a larger scale where losses are proportionally smaller.