Thermal degradation of waste plastics under non-sweeping atmosphere: Part 2: Effect of process temperature on product characteristics and their future applications

Effects of Heating Rate and Temperature on the Thermal Pyrolysis of Expanded Polystyrene Post-Industrial Waste

The use of plastic as material in various applications has been essential in the evolution of the technology industry and human society since 1950. Therefore, their production and waste generation are high due to population growth. Pyrolysis is an effective recycling method for treating plastic waste because it can recover valuable products for the chemical and petrochemical industry. This work addresses the thermal pyrolysis of expanded polystyrene (EPS) post-industrial waste in a semi-batch reactor. The influence of reaction temperature (350-500 °C) and heating rate (4-40 °C min^-1) on the liquid conversion yields and physicochemical properties was studied based on a multilevel factorial statistical analysis. In addition, the analysis of the obtaining of mono-aromatics such as styrene, toluene, benzene, ethylbenzene, and α-methyl styrene was performed. Hydrocarbon liquid yields of 76.5-93% were achieved at reaction temperatures between 350 and 450 °C, respectively. Styrene yields reached up to 72% at 450 °C and a heating rate of 25 °C min^-1. Finally, the potential application of the products obtained is discussed by proposing the minimization of EPS waste via pyrolysis.

Effect of aluminum leaching pretreatment on catalytic pyrolysis of metallised food packaging plastics and its linear and nonlinear kinetic behaviour

This research aims to study the effect of aluminum (Al) leaching pre-treatment on the catalytic pyrolysis of metallised food packaging plastics waste (MFPW). The experiments started with removal of Al from MFPW using leaching process to prepare Al-free mixed plastic waste (MPW). The catalytic pyrolysis of MPW over ZSM-5 zeolite catalyst was carried out using thermogravimetric (TG) analysis coupled with FTIR, while GC-MS was used to observe the compounds of the volatile products. The catalytic pyrolysis kinetic behaviour of MPW was studied using the linear and nonlinear isoconversional approaches. The elemental and proximate results showed that MPW is very rich in carbon elements (79 %) and volatile content (99 %). The TG results showed that MPW and ZSM/MPW were fully decomposed in the range of 376-496 °C without any presence of char. Based on TG-FTIR analysis, methane and carboxylic acid residue were the main groups of the synthesized volatile products, whereas nitrous oxide, 1-Butanol, 1-Propene, acetic acid, and formic acid were the major GC compounds. In case of ZSM/MPW, carbon dioxide and acetic acid were the major GC compounds at 5-25 °C/min, triphenylphosphine oxide and Phosphine oxide at 30 °C/min. The kinetic analysis showed that when the activation energies are located in the range 287-297 kJ/mol (MPW) and 153-187 kJ/mol (ZSM/MPW) and KAS, Vyazovkin, and Cai methods are the most suitable models to study pyrolysis kinetic of MPW with R² > 89. Based on that, leaching and catalytic pyrolysis processes are a highly suggested technology that can be used to convert MFPW into high-added energy and chemical products.

Characterization of tars from recycling of PHA bioplastic and synthetic plastics using fast pyrolysis

The aim of this study was to investigate the pyrolysis products of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), carbon fiber reinforced composite (CFRC), and block co-polymers (PS-b-P2VP and PS-b-P4VP). The studied PHA samples were produced at temperatures of 15 and 50 ^oC (PHA15 and PHA50), and commercially obtained from GlasPort Bio (PHAc). Initially, PHA samples were analyzed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and size exclusion chromatography (SEC) to determine the molecular weight, and structure of the polymers. Thermal techniques such as thermogravimetry (TG) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analyses were performed for PHA, CFRC, and block co-polymers to investigate the degradation temperature range and thermal stability of samples. Fast pyrolysis (500 ^oC, ∼10² °C s^-1) experiments were conducted for all samples in a wire mesh reactor to investigate tar products and char yields. The tar compositions were investigated by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and statistical modeling was performed. The char yields of block co-polymers and PHA samples (<2 wt. %) were unequivocally less than that of the PET sample (~10.7 wt. %). All PHA compounds contained a large fraction of ethyl cyclopropane carboxylate (~ 38-58 %), whereas PAH15 and PHA50 additionally showed a large quantity of 2-butenoic acid (~8-12 %). The PHAc sample indicated the presence of considerably high amount of methyl ester (~15 %), butyl citrate (~12.9 %), and tributyl ester (~17 %). The compositional analyses of the liquid fraction of the PET and block co-polymers have shown carcinogenic and toxic properties. Pyrolysis removed matrices in the CRFC composites which is an indication of potential recovery of the original fibers.

Pyrolysis properties and kinetics of photocured waste from photopolymerization-based 3D printing: A TG-FTIR/GC-MS study

The emerging photopolymerization-based 3D printing industry has led to a growing concern for the disposal of photocured waste (PCW), which is inevitably generated during the life cycle of photopolymerization-based 3D printing. In order to shed light on suitable thermochemical treatment and utilization approaches of PCW, this work comprehensively investigated the properties and kinetics during PCW pyrolysis via TG-FTIR/GC-MS analysis. The results demonstrated that the main decomposition of PCW sample happened in the range 320-550 °C with a total weight loss of 93.34 wt%. According to the result of four kinetic models, the activation energy of PCW sample was approximately 228.58-245.05 kJ/mol. Finally, the FTIR and GC-MS results manifested that the main components of volatiles released at different heating rates were the same. The volatiles mainly include (S)-(+)-2-hydroxy-2-phenylprop, benzaldehyde, benzophenone (photo-initiator), benzoic acid, benzoylformic acid etc., which have a multitude of potential applications. However, these volatiles produced by PCW pyrolysis have a certain toxicity and potential hazard. This study demonstrates insightful fundamentals for thermochemical disposal of PCW, which appears to be potentially valuable with the rapid development of the photopolymerization-based 3D printing industry.

Use of 2-Ethylhexyl Nitrate for the Slow Pyrolysis of Plastic Waste

Plastics are widely used and are part of modern life. Recycling of plastic waste can be achieved by pyrolysis. Conventional pyrolysis of plastic waste takes place at temperatures higher than 450 °C, because the oil yield is higher. In this study, we examined if an initiator for radical reactions can achieve the conventional pyrolysis of HDPE and PP even at low temperatures. To support the onset of decomposition of HDPE and PP at low temperatures, 2-ethylhexyl nitrate (2-EHN) was added. 2-EHN forms radicals already at about 150 °C and can thus initiate the pyrolysis process at lower temperatures. Pyrolysis oil yields increased, especially for HDPE pyrolysis, at the expense of the gaseous (minus 50%) and especially the solid fraction (minus 80%). For PP and HDPE pyrolysis oil, the proportion of carbon compounds shifted toward shorter-chain, less cyclic compounds, and there was an improvement in the physicochemical property profile: the heating values of both oils were slightly higher and the pour point significantly lower, in line with the shift toward shorter-chain compounds. The diesel content and, to a lesser extent, the gasoline content increased at the expense of waxes and other high-boiling compounds.

Effects of heating rate on thermal degradation behavior and kinetics of representative thermoplastic wastes

Waste thermoplastics are the most common solid wastes, and thermal degradation has excellent advantages in the disposal of these wastes and obtaining valuable hydrocarbon fuels. As a significant factor, the heating rate is crucial to the thermal degradation process. Consequently, thermal degradation behavior and kinetics of representative thermoplastics under different heating rates were investigated by using thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry in the air. Kinetic parameters were estimated by using the Coats-Redfern method. Subsequently, the Shuffled Complex Evolution (SCE) method was used to optimize kinetic parameters, and the optimized results were compared with the calculated kinetics of distributed activation energy model (DAEM) method to find the effects of heating rate on kinetic parameters. The results showed that with the increase of heating rate, thermogravimetric curves moved to the right, which corresponded to a higher temperature range. The number of mass loss rate peaks and exothermic peaks decreased. Additionally, activation energy was the same at the determined minimum and maximum heating rates, and other heating rates had little effect on kinetic parameters. Moreover, the calculated activation energy of the DAEM method at the minimum heating rate of 5 K/min was closest to the optimized values of the SCE method, indicating that the lower the minimum heating rate was, the more accurate the activation energy was.

Conventional pyrolysis of Plastic waste for Product recovery and utilization of pyrolytic gases for carbon nanotubes production

Inevitably increase in plastic demand has resulted in an overgrowing production on a global scale. The utilization of plastics has been applied to a number of industries as it is a durable, moldable, and inexpensive material. High exploitation of plastic had resulted in a hefty amount of waste production, which is not easy to recycle due to its non-degradable nature and results in landfills. Nowadays, waste to energy processes such as pyrolysis has emerged as a superlative process for the management of plastic waste by converting it into useful products. On the other hand, the employment of carbon nanotubes (CNT's) has shown high growth in their production. CNT's were generally synthesized from conventional gases like methane, ethane, and ethylene. Plastic waste can be utilized to substitute the feed material for the CNT synthesis via pyrolysis method. In this study, a two-step pyrolysis process was investigated for product recovery and CNT's production. The first steps consisted of catalytic and non-catalytic degradation of mixed plastic waste in a vertical fixed bed reactor at 500 °C with a heating rate of 20 °C/min for the production of pyrolytic oil and gases and were analyzed. The second step consists of the employment of catalytic pyrolysis gases in a horizontal tube reactor maintained at a temperature of 800 °C over a bed of catalyst for the synthesis of CNT's via catalytic vapor deposition (CVD) technique. It was established that the use of catalyst decreases the oil phase production from 80.5 to 64%, char from 9 to 6.5% while an increase in gas phase production from 10.5 to 29.5% was reported. The alteration of hydrocarbons to CNT's was investigated via pre- and post-GC analysis of the gas samples. Post gas investigation indicates an increased concentration of hydrogen in the sample. Also, the decline of hydrocarbon gases concentration was observed in post sample analysis. Also, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis confirms the synthesis of CNT's.

Chemical Recycling of Plastic Marine Litter: First Analytical Characterization of The Pyrolysis Oil and of Its Fractions and Comparison with a Commercial Marine Gasoil

A detailed molecular fingerprint of raw pyrolysis oil from plastic wastes is a new research area. The present study focuses for the first time on the chemical recycling of plastic marine litter; we aim to chemically characterize the obtained raw pyrolysis oil and its distillates (virgin naphtha and marine gasoil) via GC-MS and FT-IR. For all samples, more than 30% of the detected compounds were identified. 2,4-dimethyl-1-heptene, a marker of PP pyrolysis, is the most represented peak in the chemical signature of all the marine litter pyrolysis samples, and it differentiates commercial and pyrolysis marine gasoil. The presence of naphthalenes is stronger in commercial gasoil, compared to its pyrolysis analog, while the opposite holds for olefins. The overlap between the two molecular fingerprints is impressive, even if saturated hydrocarbons are more common in commercial gasoil, and unsaturated compounds are more common in the gasoil derived from pyrolysis. A technical comparison between the commercial marine gasoil and the one obtained from the marine litter pyrolysis is also attempted. Gasoil derived from marine litter fully complies with the ISO8217 standards for distillate marine fuel. On the other hand, the virgin naphtha is particularly rich in BTX, ethylbenzene, styrene, and alpha olefins, which are all important recoverable platform chemicals for industrial upcycling.

Critical insights into the effects of plastic pyrolysis oil on emission and performance characteristics of CI engine

Pyrolysis is an encouraging solution considering the facts of energy demand and waste plastic management as it produces liquid fuel for compression ignition engine application. This study provides critical insights into the effects of waste plastic oil on the emission and performance characteristics of compression ignition engines. Though most of the studies have shown a negative influence, promising outcomes have been noticed in a few specific cases. A maximum of 71%, 80%, 76%, 71%, 21%, and 13% decrease in nitrogen oxide emission, carbon monoxide emission, unburnt hydrocarbon emission, smoke emission, exhaust gas temperature, and brake-specific fuel consumption, respectively, have been noticed with waste plastic oil or its blends at certain operating conditions. Nevertheless, the presence of long carbon chains, higher aromatic content, and non-homogeneous air-fuel mixture owing to the wide product distribution in plastic oil are the few reasons which affected the emission and performance characteristics of the engines. More rigorous investigations are needed to improve the quality of the fuel and to establish correlations between the fuel properties and pyrolysis parameters. In addition, the effects of incorporating exhaust gas recirculation, emulsification process, and use of additives with waste plastic oil need to be explored more for reducing the emissions with satisfactory engine performance, and in this regard, the use of bio-additives with waste plastic oil can provide a new direction to this research field. Further, studies on the economic feasibility and the impact of waste plastic oil on engine materials are also required.

Catalytic Pyrolysis Kinetic Behavior and TG-FTIR-GC-MS Analysis of Metallized Food Packaging Plastics with Different Concentrations of ZSM-5 Zeolite Catalyst

Recently, the pyrolysis process has been adapted as a sustainable strategy to convert metallized food packaging plastics waste (MFPW) into energy products (paraffin wax, biogas, and carbon black particles) and to recover aluminum. Usually, catalysts are used in pyrolysis treatment to refine pyrolysis products and to increase their yield. In order to study the effect of a catalyst on the formulated volatile products, this work aims to study the pyrolysis behavior of MFPW in presence of catalyst, using TG-FTIR-GC–MS system. The pyrolysis experiments were conducted with ZSM-5 Zeolite catalyst with different concentrations (10, 30, and 50 wt.%) at different heating rates (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 °C/min). In addition, TG-FTIR system and GC-MS unit were used to observe and analyze the thermal and chemical degradation of the obtained volatile compounds at maximum decomposition peaks. In addition, the kinetic results of catalytic pyrolysis of ZSM-5/MFPW samples matched when model-free methods, a distributed activation energy model (DAEM), and an independent parallel reaction kinetic model (IPR) were used. The TGA-DTG results showed that addition of a catalyst did not have a significant effect on the features of the TGA-DTG curves with similar weight loss of 87–90 wt.% (without taking the weight of the catalyst into account). Meanwhile, FTIR results manifested strong presence of methane and high-intensity functional group of carboxylic acid residues, especially at high concentration of ZSM-5 and high heating rates. Likewise, GC-MS measurements showed that Benzene, Toluene, Hexane, p-Xylene, etc. compounds (main flammable liquid compounds in petroleum oil) generated catalysts exceeding 50%. Finally, pyrolysis kinetics showed that the whole activation energies of catalytic pyrolysis process of MFPW were estimated at 289 kJ/mol and 110, 350, and 174 kJ/mol for ZSM-5/MFPW samples (10, 30, and 50 wt.%, respectively), whereas DAEM and IPR approaches succeeded to simulate TGA and DTG profiles with deviations below <1.

Chemical recycling of plastic waste: Bitumen, solvents, and polystyrene from pyrolysis oil

As an alternative to conventional plastic-waste treatments, herein, we report a pyrolytic plastic-recovery process in which diverse compounds and materials are recovered from the pyrolysis oil obtained from the plastic waste. Distillation of the pyrolysis oil led to a bitumen and a distilled fraction. The composition of the bitumen, as determined by saturate, aromatic, resin, and asphaltene (S.A.R.A.) analysis and corroborated by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, was found to principally contain aromatics (55.05 wt%) and saturates (33.41 wt%), and has great potential as a modifier for bitumen mixtures by decreasing the viscosities or softening points of final products. The distilled fraction was characterised and compared to pyrolysis oil in terms of its physicochemical properties and composition. Analysis by gas-chromatography/mass-spectrometry (GC-MS) revealed high levels of aromatics, namely styrene, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and α-methylstyrene, which are potentially recoverable base compounds for industrial use. With this in mind, the distillate was subjected to various processes, including aromatic extraction with sulfolane and subsequent fractional distillation to recover the principal compounds in the various GC-MS fractions. Fraction 1 was found to be rich in ethylbenzene and toluene, while fraction 2 contained 73.26 wt% styrene and was used to synthesise recycled polystyrene (PS), whose yield and molecular weight (M_w) were optimised by adjusting the initiator concentration, temperature, and time. The optimised recycled PS was characterised to provide a yield of 77.64% and a M_w higher than 53,000 g/mol; this recycled PS exhibited similar thermal properties to those of conventional PS prepared using petrochemical sources.

Modeling of Metalized Food Packaging Plastics Pyrolysis Kinetics Using an Independent Parallel Reactions Kinetic Model

Recently, a pyrolysis process has been adapted as an emerging technology to convert metalized food packaging plastics waste (MFPWs) into energy products with a high economic benefit. In order to upscale this technology, the knowledge of the pyrolysis kinetic of MFPWs is needed and studying these parameters using free methods is not sufficient to describe the last stages of pyrolysis. For a better understanding of MFPWs pyrolysis kinetics, independent parallel reactions (IPR) kinetic model and its modification model (MIPR) were used in the present research to describe the kinetic parameters of MFPWs pyrolysis at different heating rates (5-30 °C min-1). The IPR and MIPR models were built according to thermogravimetric (TG)-Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR)-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) results of three different types of MFPWs (coffee, chips, and chocolate) and their mixture. The accuracy of the developed kinetic models was evaluated by comparing the conformity of the DTG experimental results to the data calculated using IPR and MIPR models. The results showed that the dependence of the pre-exponential factor on the heating rate (as in the case of MIPR model) led to better conformity results with high predictability of kinetic parameters with an average deviation of 2.35% (with an improvement of 73%, when compared to the IPR model). Additionally, the values of activation energy and pre-exponential factor were calculated using the MIPR model and estimated at 294 kJ mol-1 and 5.77 × 1017 kJ mol-1 (for the mixed MFPW sample), respectively. Finally, GC-MS results illustrated that pentane (13.8%) and 2,4-dimethyl-1-heptene isopropylcyclobutane (44.31%) represent the main compounds in the released volatile products at the maximum decomposition temperature.