Temperature Effects on the Yield of Gaseous Olefins from Waste Polyethylene via Flash Pyrolysis

Kannan, Pravin; Shoaibi, Ahmed Al; Srinivasakannan, C.

doi:10.1021/ef500516n

Cited by 41 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…However, even in this case, ethylene yields are still low (only 30% recovery), given that at this temperature more complex products are still dominant. Other studies reported similar results [20][21][22] , with a maximum ethylene recovery of 48% found at 1000 °C by Kannan et al 23 . Furthermore, to the best of the authors' knowledge, the highest scale at which experimental studies have been carried out is a 30 kg/h pilot plant 24 .…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 68%

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Realizing the Potential High Benefits of Circular Economy in the Chemical Industry: Ethylene Monomer Recovery via Polyethylene Pyrolysis

Somoza-Tornos

González-Garay²,

Pozo³

et al. 2020

ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng.

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The concept of the circular economy has gained wide interest in industry as a powerful strategy to reduce impacts while remaining economically competitive. Here we explore the benefits of this approach in the chemical industry, quantifying explicitly the economic and environmental benefits of ethylene recovery from polyethylene plastics using process modeling coupled with Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Our results show that the recovered ethylene represents a win-win alternative, offering a highly competitive cost of 0.386 €/kg vs 0.835 €/ kg with the standard naphtha-based route. Furthermore, substantial reductions of as much as 87%, 89% and 164% could also be attained (compared to the naphtha-based ethylene) in impacts on human health, ecosystem quality and resources scarcity, respectively.Overall, this work aims to promote the adoption of circular economy strategies in the chemical sector, while highlighting the role of process modeling, LCA and systems thinking in quantifying the associated benefits to build strong cases for policymaking.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 68%

“…The distribution of the products follows Eq. 1, which represents a global reaction whose stoichiometric coefficients were adjusted according to the data reported by Kannan et al 23 :…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Realizing the Potential High Benefits of Circular Economy in the Chemical Industry: Ethylene Monomer Recovery via Polyethylene Pyrolysis

Somoza-Tornos

González-Garay²,

Pozo³

et al. 2020

ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The by-product, which is oil, can be used to provide the required energy for the process. Kannan et al [ 56 ] performed a flash pyrolysis of LDPE in a microreactor with a minimal heat/mass transfer resistance at temperatures of 600–1000 °C, and vapor residence time of 250 ms to investigate the effect of temperature on monomer recovery (yield of olefins). They found that the 950–1000 °C temperature range is optimal to recover up to 68 wt.% of monomers.…”

Section: Pyrolysis Processmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pyrolytic Conversion of Plastic Waste to Value-Added Products and Fuels: A Review

2021

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Plastic production has been rapidly growing across the world and, at the end of their use, many of the plastic products become waste disposed of in landfills or dispersed, causing serious environmental and health issues. From a sustainability point of view, the conversion of plastic waste to fuels or, better yet, to individual monomers, leads to a much greener waste management compared to landfill disposal. In this paper, we systematically review the potential of pyrolysis as an effective thermochemical conversion method for the valorization of plastic waste. Different pyrolysis types, along with the influence of operating conditions, e.g., catalyst types, temperature, vapor residence time, and plastic waste types, on yields, quality, and applications of the cracking plastic products are discussed. The quality of pyrolysis plastic oil, before and after upgrading, is compared to conventional diesel fuel. Plastic oil yields as high as 95 wt.% can be achieved through slow pyrolysis. Plastic oil has a heating value approximately equivalent to that of diesel fuel, i.e., 45 MJ/kg, no sulfur, a very low water and ash content, and an almost neutral pH, making it a promising alternative to conventional petroleum-based fuels. This oil, as-is or after minor modifications, can be readily used in conventional diesel engines. Fast pyrolysis mainly produces wax rather than oil. However, in the presence of a suitable catalyst, waxy products further crack into oil. Wax is an intermediate feedstock and can be used in fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) units to produce fuel or other valuable petrochemical products. Flash pyrolysis of plastic waste, performed at high temperatures, i.e., near 1000 °C, and with very short vapor residence times, i.e., less than 250 ms, can recover up to 50 wt.% ethylene monomers from polyethylene waste. Alternatively, pyrolytic conversion of plastic waste to olefins can be performed in two stages, with the conversion of plastic waste to plastic oil, followed by thermal cracking of oil to monomers in a second stage. The conversion of plastic waste to carbon nanotubes, representing a higher-value product than fuel, is also discussed in detail. The results indicate that up to 25 wt.% of waste plastic can be converted into carbon nanotubes.

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“…6,7 Pyrolysis involves controlled cracking of the feedstock at mild temperatures of 400-700 C in an inert atmosphere in the presence or absence of a catalyst. 6,7 Pyrolysis involves controlled cracking of the feedstock at mild temperatures of 400-700 C in an inert atmosphere in the presence or absence of a catalyst.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bio-oil production via catalytic microwave pyrolysis of model municipal solid waste component mixtures

Suriapparao

Vinu

2015

RSC Adv.

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In this study, microwave assisted co-pyrolysis of mixtures of cellulose, paraffin oil, kitchen waste and garden waste that closely mimic municipal solid wastes (MSW) is conducted at different reaction conditions. Experiments were conducted in a multimode microwave reactor using ten different microwave absorbing materials (or susceptors) such as aluminium, activated carbon, garnet, iron, silica beads, cement, SiC, TiO 2 , fly ash and graphite. Pyrolysis was conducted up to 600 C, and the effects of feed to susceptor ratio and composition of the model MSW mixture on (i) overall bio-oil, gas and char yields, (ii) heating value of the bio-oil, and (iii) composition of the bio-oil and gases, were evaluated. Besides greatly affecting the yields of bio-oil, gases and char, the susceptors played a catalytic role in altering the selectivity of the various components in bio-oil. The bio-oil contained oxygenated compounds (furans, phenolics, cyclo-oxygenates), aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons (mono and polycyclics). Aromatic hydrocarbons were the key products of interaction among the model components. Highest bio-oil yield of 53 wt% was achieved with an equal composition mixture at 1 : 1 wt/wt of MSW : graphite. This corresponded to nearly 95% energy recovery and 85% deoxygenation in bio-oil. High selectivities of monoaromatics such as benzene, toluene, xylene and styrene, and C8-C20 aliphatic hydrocarbons, and low selectivity of polycyclic aromatics were obtained with a majority of the susceptor-MSW combinations. Methane, ethylene, propylene, isobutylene and hydrogen were the major gaseous products, whose selectivities varied with MSW composition. This study shows that microwave assisted pyrolysis is a promising strategy to derive value added organics from MSWs.

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Temperature Effects on the Yield of Gaseous Olefins from Waste Polyethylene via Flash Pyrolysis

Cited by 41 publications

References 13 publications

Realizing the Potential High Benefits of Circular Economy in the Chemical Industry: Ethylene Monomer Recovery via Polyethylene Pyrolysis

Realizing the Potential High Benefits of Circular Economy in the Chemical Industry: Ethylene Monomer Recovery via Polyethylene Pyrolysis

Pyrolytic Conversion of Plastic Waste to Value-Added Products and Fuels: A Review

Bio-oil production via catalytic microwave pyrolysis of model municipal solid waste component mixtures

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