Abstract
A mesoporous HMCM-41 type material and a nanosized HZSM-5 (n-HZSM-5) zeolite have been investigated as catalysts for the conversion of a plastic mixture consisting of polypropylene and both low- and high-density polyethylenes. The effects of the plastic/catalyst mass ratio (P/C) and the temperature have been studied using a batch reactor. Both materials present a high activity for the conversion of the polyolefin mixture, leading to almost total plastic conversion as the temperature is increased from 375 to 450 °C or as the P/C ratio is varied from 200 to 4. The product distributions obtained with these two catalysts are completely different, which is related to the prevailing cracking mechanism. n-HZSM-5 zeolite, with high external surface area and strong acid sites, promotes end-chain scission reactions of the polymers, leading to light hydrocarbons, with around 80−90% of the products in the range C3−C6. In contrast, heavier products (C5−C12 and C13−C22) are obtained over HMCM-41, indicating that random...
Published Version
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