Hydrocarbon Fractions from Thermolysis of Waste Plastics as Components of Engine Fuels

Anna Matuszewska,Maciej Paczuski,Adam Hańderek,Krzysztof Biernat

doi:10.3390/en14217245

Abstract

Plastics are one of the basic construction materials with a wide range of various applications. One of their disadvantages is the problem of managing the waste they generate. Chemical recycling offers the possibility of liquefying polymeric waste and using it as fuel components. Existing technologies giving good quality products are expensive. The HT technology developed and described by the authors is cheaper and enables a high quality product to be obtained. The authors have shown that the quality of the received fuel components is influenced not only by the polymer waste processing technology, but also by the feedstock composition. The presented thermolysis technology not only enables more advanced recycling, but also gives the possibility of partial improvement of the product quality. A product with the best physico-chemical properties was obtained from a blend of PE:PP:PS used in the ratio 60:30:10. It was proved that diesel and petrol blends composed of a 5% v/v share of petrol and diesel fractions, obtained from thermolysis of plastics, meet the normative requirements of fuel quality standards.

Highlights

The polymers were placed in a thermolysis reactor at different mass ratios to each other
With the temperature at the top of the reactor set at 360 ◦ C, only hydrocarbon vapors whose boiling point was equal to or lower than the set temperature at the top of the reactor left the thermolysis reactor
Investigations of the obtained liquid products showed that the optimal composition of the raw material in terms of fuel requirements was that obtained from a blend in which the PE:PP ratio was 60:40

Summary

Introduction

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Polymers and plastics are an essential material in many areas of the economy, ranging from packaging, textiles and electronics to machinery and equipment components as well as various structures. This is due to their numerous advantages, such as low density, ease of shaping, high corrosion resistance and good mechanical strength. The potential of these materials is demonstrated by the constantly growing demand and output volumes

Methods

Results

Conclusion