Valorisation Of Plastic Wastes For Fuel Oil Production

Abstract

In this study, waste plastics comprising PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles, pure water sachets (low-density polyethylene), nylon bags (low-density polyethylene), and food containers (polypropylene) were subjected to pyrolysis using Lewis’s acid aluminium chloride, supported with activated carbon. Feedstock and catalyst were combined in the ratio 10:1. Oil distillates from the procedure were collected at 200 oC to 400 oC as plastic waste derived oil (or pyrolysis oil). The waste plastic polymers from Thermogravimetric analysis showed degradation between 200 oC to 500 oC. A good yield of 70 to 83 mL from 500 g of feedstocks was obtained from all the waste plastics. The characterisation of the plastic waste derived oil indicated similar properties with that of the commercial fuel. The Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) spectra obtained showed similarity to fuel range hydrocarbons reported in literature. The compounds obtained from GC-MS analysis, matched with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) mass spectrum library, showed a carbon range of C 11 to C 28. XRD analysis revealed oxygen, aluminium, sulphur, chlorine, and calcium. correspondingly, the oxides of sulphur, aluminium, and calcium oxide were dominant across all the samples. Overall, the pyrolysis procedure employed in this study offers a sustainable waste-to-wealth approach for transforming plastics into fuel oils, and can be scaled to meet industrial demands for a circular economy.