This study covers production of liquid fuel from waste plastics by cracking the waste plastics by means of thermal pyrolysis. The waste plastics used were a mixture of polyethylene terephthalate and polystyrene. Physiochemical properties of the liquid fuel were determined experimentally and then compared with those of petrol. The pour point of liquid fuel and petrol was 1.02°C and −26°C, respectively; the higher heating value of liquid fuel and petrol was 39.5 and 44.18 MJ/kg, respectively; the lower heating value of liquid fuel and petrol was 38.2 and 41.50 MJ/kg, respectively; the fire point of liquid fuel and petrol was 90.20°C and 24°C, respectively; the octane number of liquid fuel and petrol was 46.0 and 93.1, respectively; the kinematic viscosity of liquid fuel and petrol was 2.76 and 0.487 mm 2 /s, respectively; the boiling point of liquid fuel and petrol was 182.40°C and 210.4°C, respectively; the autoignition temperature of liquid fuel and petrol was 230°C and 235°C, respectively. The physiochemical properties of liquid fuel and petrol are not significantly different and, therefore, the liquid fuel could be used as an alternative fuel to petrol. K E Y W O R D S liquid fuel, petrol, physiochemical properties, thermal pyrolysis, waste plastics Heat Transfer-Asian Res. 2019;48:1648-1662. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/htj 1648 |
In an attempt to produce fuel from plastic waste, a cylindrical fixed-bed pyrolysis reactor with a capacity of 0.01053 m3 was designed and fabricated. The pyrolytic fuel produced serves as a substitute to fossil fuel. A thermal degradation process, known as fixed-bed pyrolysis, was employed to obtain the pyrolytic fuel from the plastic waste. The operating pressure and the design pressure of the pyrolysis reactor are 25.16 MPa and 28.93 MPa, respectively. The performance testing of the reactor shows that the pyrolytic fuel has higher calorific value, flash point, cetane rating, and density of 39.5 MJ kg−1, 72.5 °C, 40.5, and 804.0 kg m−3, respectively. The corresponding values for the fossil fuel (diesel) are 44.8 MJ kg−1, 68.0 °C, 48.0, and 820.0 kg m−3, respectively. It was confirmed through the performance testing that the reactor was properly designed and can, therefore, be reliably used to produce pyrolytic fuel, which can be made use of as a good alternative to fossil fuel.
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