Jet fuel and hydrogen produced from waste plastics catalytic pyrolysis with activated carbon and MgO

Abstract

Catalytic pyrolysis of waste plastics to produce jet fuel and hydrogen using activated carbon and MgO as catalysts was studied. The effects of catalyst to waste plastics ratio experimental temperature, catalyst placement and activated carbon to MgO ratio on the yields and distributions of pyrolysis products were studied. The placement of catalysts played an important role on the catalytic pyrolysis of LDPE, and the pyrolytic volatiles first flowing through MgO and then biomass-derived activated carbon (BAC) could obtain an excellent result to produce H2 and jet fuel-rich products. The higher pyrolysis temperature converted diesel range alkanes into jet fuel range alkanes and promoted the aromatization of alkanes to generate aromatic hydrocarbons. BAC and MgO as catalysts had excellent performance in catalytic conversion of LDPE to produce hydrogen and jet fuel. 100 area.% jet fuel range products can be obtained in LDPE catalytic pyrolysis under desired experimental conditions. The combination of BAC and MgO as catalysts had a synergy effect on the gaseous product distribution and promoted the production of hydrogen, and up to 94.8 vol% of the obtained gaseous components belonged to hydrogen. This work provided an effective, convenient and economical pathway to produce jet fuel and hydrogen from waste plastics.