Studies on pyrolytic conversion of waste plastic carry bags into plastic crude oil

Abstract

The utilization of plastic carry bags in our modern life is increasing every year and also increasing pressure on safe disposal of these bags. Worldwide the disposal of these kinds of plastic wastes is becoming serious issue due to their non-degradable nature. The main aim of this study is to exploit the potential of waste plastic carry bags for the production of plastic crude oil by using non-electric pyrolytic unit. The heat required for pyrolysis process supplied from biomass gas stove and coconut shell used as combustible fuel. To optimize the heating conditions for higher plastic crude oil recovery, different quantities of coconut shell were utilized and the maximum recovery of plastic crude oil was recorded. The yield of crude oil ranged from 34.5 to 40.7 per cent for the reaction temperature ranged from 457 to 517 °C. For 4 kg fuel supplied as heating source, the crude oil recovered was 40.7 per cent at a reaction temperature of 486 oC and residence time of 58 min. The calorific value of the waste plastic carry bags and plastic crude oil was found to be 34.4 and 38.6 MJ/kg, respectively.