Hydrocracking reaction of HDPE resin (raw materials of plastic) using Cu/AC and HZSM-5 catalysts

Abstract

Plastic is an un-renewable material that is difficult for being unravelled by nature. One of the promising ways is converted into other high-value chemical compounds such as fuel or fine chemicals by the catalytic hydrocracking reaction. This study investigates the hydrocracking process of HDPE resin using Cu/AC and HZSM-5 catalysts. HDPE catalytic hydrocracking process is conducted in the autoclave reactor with the temperature of 350 °C and 5 bar pressures in H2 gas. It is obtained that the liquid product yield resulting in the hydrocracking process using Cu/AC catalyst is 0.314% with the main components are 1-Butanol products while using HZSM-5 catalyst yielding the liquid product is around 6.587% and the main component products are 2-methyl 2-hexene (carbon number below C8). It is also found that the acidity catalyst plays a crucial role in the hydrocracking reaction compared to the surface area and pore size properties of the hydrocracking catalyst.