Catalytic pyrolysis of plastic waste to gasoline, jet fuel and diesel with nano MOF derived-loaded Y zeolite: Evaluation of temperature, zeolite crystallization and catalyst loading effects

Abstract

Catalytic pyrolysis of municipal plastic waste can serve as a means of refining nature from the non-degradable plastic pollutants while producing a significant amount of liquid fuel required for the transportation industry. The low quality of the produced liquid fuel is often a fundamental challenge in pyrolysis, which can be overcome by utilizing catalysts. In this study, an upgraded zeolite Y catalyst has been employed. However, one of the main issues with zeolites is their small pore size, which restricts the entry of heavy polymer compounds and only allows small molecules to enter. To address this limitation, an innovative approach has been applied in this research where MIL-53 (Cu) is loaded onto the surface of the zeolite. After pyrolysis, it was determined that a composite of copper and its oxides, enclosed in a carbon nanocarbon shell C60 and C70, has been loaded onto the surface of the zeolite. This inexpensive composite exhibit behavior similar to noble and expensive metals due to its high electron transfer density. Additionally, analyses XRD, FTIR, BET, XRF, EDX, GC–MS, NH3-TPD and CHNSO were utilized for the characterization of the catalyst and the liquid fuel. Furthermore, three key parameters were selected for experimental design: temperature (375–525 °C), catalyst loading in the reactor (2.5–17.5 %), and support crystallinity percentage (0–100 %). Using a response surface approach, the impact of these parameters on the liquid fuel production efficiency was investigated. Ultimately, the produced liquid fuel was separated into three fractions: gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel. The effects of these primary parameters on the efficiency of each fuel type were determined using the response surface methodology.