Current Topics in Plastic Recycling

Charitopoulou, Maria Anna; Alexopoulou, Eleni; Alexiou, Panagiotis; Achilias, Dimitris S.

doi:10.5772/intechopen.101575

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 61 publications

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“…The former process is known as thermal pyrolysis, whereas the latter is known as catalytic pyrolysis. Various catalysts, such as zeolites, red mud, silica-alumina mixture, Fe 2 O 3 , and Al 2 O 3 , have been employed in the pyrolysis of waste plastics [11][12][13][14]. Lee et al carried out pyrolysis of scrap LDPE in the presence of H-ZSM-11 zeolite as an effective catalyst [15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Catalytic Pyrolysis of Waste Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) Carry Bags to Fuels: Experimental and Exergy Analyses

et al. 2023

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The present investigation reports the results of experiments related to the conversion of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) waste carry bags to fuel through an economic catalytic pyrolysis method in a batch reactor using zinc oxide (ZnO) as the catalyst. Plastics are highly beneficial for the day-to-day activities of human beings; however, their decomposition is limited due to their strong covalent bonding. Degradation of these big molecules into smaller ones or monomers has been attempted by several researchers in recent decades, with limited success. Pyrolysis is one of the ideas used to convert plastics, with the crowded structure of polymers, into fuel rather than small molecules. Among these plastics, LDPE is widely used as carry bags throughout the world, and, herein, the results of catalytic pyrolysis of the conversion of LDPE into fuel are reported. A compact laboratory-scale batch reactor, specially designed at our laboratory, was used to carry out the pyrolysis process. Different dosages of ZnO were used as a catalyst to carry out the pyrolysis at a specific temperature. The optimal dosage of ZnO for a 50 g waste LDPE batch was found to be 0.6 g to get the maximum oil yield. The yielded oil was analyzed chemically through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and a Reformulyzer M4 Hydrocarbon Group Type Analyzer. Evaluation of physical and chemical exergy along with exergetic efficiency of the process was carried out. The described experiments and the results represent a small but significant step toward curbing the menace of plastic solid wastes, which are degrading the environment and human life worryingly, and allowing them to be utilized for generating low-cost fuel for transportation and other applications.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Catalytic Pyrolysis of Waste Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) Carry Bags to Fuels: Experimental and Exergy Analyses

et al. 2023

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Building a community-scale plastic recycling station to make flower pots from bottle caps

Chaari¹,

Abdelfatah²,

Al-Sulaiti³

et al. 2023

SN Appl. Sci.

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Plastic waste is increasing worldwide, contributing significantly to pollution and global warming. Our department uses at least 50 plastic water bottles daily; these bottles can be reused to manufacture other products. Recycling plastic waste produces various products, including garden sets for kids, bricks, roof tiles, key holders, and flowerpots. Through this project, we contribute to the fight against pollution caused by plastic waste by developing an easy-to-use plastic processing system. We create these valuable products using plastic collected from landfills. We present an open-source system that can be easily built by a technical team to create an ecosystem. We use the project as a mobile educational model to demonstrate the recycling mechanism and to foster a community recycling culture. The following procedures are included in this study. High-density polyethylene bottle caps are washed and dried before shredding in a shredder to produce flakes. Plastic flakes are fed into an extruder, which heats and transforms them into a homogeneous mass. This molten plastic is molded into the shape of a flowerpot using a die. Pots are great products to obtain from discarded plastic caps due to their strength. Following the fabrication of the entire system, numerous tests are performed to improve the design and obtain the desired specifications, resulting in appealing end products. In our facilities, flowerpots are made from consumer bottle caps and used to grow aloe.

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Catalytic Pyrolysis of Waste Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) Carry Bags to Fuels: Experimental and Exergy Analyses

Rajan¹,

Mustafa²,

Gopanna³

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Plastics are highly beneficial for the day-to-day activities of human beings; however, their decomposition is limited due to their strong covalent bonding. The concept of degradation of these big molecules into smaller ones or monomers was attempted by several researchers in the preceding decades with limited success. Pyrolysis is one of the ideas used to convert plastics into fuel, rather than small molecules, compared to the crowded structure of polymers. Among these plastics, low-density polyethylene (LDPE) is largely used as carry bags throughout the world, and, herein, the results of catalytic pyrolysis of the conversion of LDPE into fuel are reported. Different dosages of zinc oxide (ZnO) were used as a catalyst to do the pyrolysis at a specific temperature in a batch reactor specially designed at our laboratory. 0.6 g of ZnO was found to be the optimal dosage for a 50 g waste LDPE batch to get the maximum oil yield. The yielded oil was analyzed chemically through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Reformulyzer M4 Hydrocarbon Group Type Analyzer. Evaluation of physical and chemical exergy along with exergetic efficiency of the process was done.

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Current Topics in Plastic Recycling

Cited by 3 publications

References 61 publications

Catalytic Pyrolysis of Waste Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) Carry Bags to Fuels: Experimental and Exergy Analyses

Catalytic Pyrolysis of Waste Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) Carry Bags to Fuels: Experimental and Exergy Analyses

Building a community-scale plastic recycling station to make flower pots from bottle caps

Catalytic Pyrolysis of Waste Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) Carry Bags to Fuels: Experimental and Exergy Analyses

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