Catalytic pyrolysis of polymer waste is an attractive alternative process for the conversion of large hydrocarbon compounds to useful products for the most reliable fueling and valuable chemicals, growing toward a circular economy and enhancing the reduction of waste materials. In this study, catalytic pyrolysis of waste polyethylene wax (WPEW) using a dual acid–acid catalyst and acid–base catalyst, which had various pore size distributions and included a strong active site, maximized the desirable yield and product distribution. The effect of the process conditions and synergy of activated carbon (AC) blended into both a spent fluid catalytic cracking catalyst (FCC) and magnesium oxide (MgO) catalyst was examined in a 3000 cm 3 custom-built reactor at varying operating temperatures (400–470 °C), inert nitrogen gas flow rates (50 mL min –1 ), catalyst loading (1–5 wt %), and FCC-AC and MgO-AC ratios in the catalytic conversion of WPEW to obtain the highest amount of diesel-like oil. The results indicated that thermal cracking of WPEW at 420 °C by a fixed inert N 2 flow rate of 50 mL min –1 obtained the highest liquid yield of 81.64 wt % and a diesel-like fraction of 35.51 wt %, while the catalytic conversion of WPEW under optimum conditions (temperature: 420 °C; fixed inert N 2 flow rate: 50 mL min –1 ; catalyst load: 5 wt %; MgO-AC ratio: 0.5:0.5) achieved the highest liquid diesel-like yield of 41.92 wt %. Physicochemical analyses showed that the highest heating value of WPEW pyrolytic oil was 44.20 MJ kg –1 , and the viscosity was 1.7 mm 2 s –1 at 40 °C. The combination of MgO-AC as a dual catalyst illustrates a positive synergistic effect on the catalytic activity performance markedly, outstanding catalytic characteristics alongside high selectivity in pyrolysis of WPEW to paraffinic hydrocarbons in the diesel-like fraction.
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