Co-pyrolysis of lychee and plastic waste as a source of bioenergy through kinetic study and thermodynamic analysis

Abstract

The use of hazardous materials like plastic waste can be improved by adding value to viable biomass candidates. The current study is focused on lychee and plastic waste co-pyrolysis for the production of energy and chemicals. Based on this knowledge of the subject matter sample mixture was pyrolysed at four different heating rates: 10 °C min−1, 20 °C min−1, 30 °C min−1, and 40 °C min−1. To establish the pyrolysis reaction process, the data was subjected to kinetic modelling, which predicted thermodynamic parameters. The co-pyrolysis standard method of lychee and plastic waste demonstrated 83% of thermal degradation was achieved. This result proves that the co-pyrolysis of lychee waste and waste plastics can increase the output of bio-oil, reduce carbon coking, improve profitability and cost competitiveness, make industrial production possible and environmentally friendly. The kinetic parameters, such as average activation energy, pre-exponential factors, enthalpy and Gibbs free energy, were shown to be 64 kJ mol−1 to 71 kJ mol−1, 102 s−1 to 1011 s−1, 58 kJ mol−1 to 65 kJ mol−1 and 299 kJ mol−1 to 308 kJ mol−1. The obtained quantitative synergetic kinetic and thermodynamic attributes of lychee and plastic waste may indicate its potential for bioenergy generation.