Experimental Study of Catalytic Pyrolysis of Plastic Waste for Fuel Production

The accumulation of post-consumer plastic waste presents a severe global environmental crisis. Converting these polymer streams into high-grade liquid fuels via catalytic pyrolysis offers a sustainable circular economy solution. This study presents a systematic experimental investigation of the catalytic pyrolysis of mixed plastic waste (composed of High-Density Polyethylene [HDPE], Low-Density Polyethylene [LDPE], and Polypropylene [PP]) over various synthesized catalysts: HZSM-۵, USY zeolite, Al-MCM-۴۱, and a novel hierarchical Beta zeolite. Pyrolysis runs were conducted in a dual-stage, semi-batch reactor at temperatures ranging from ۴۰۰oC to ۶۰۰oC with a catalyst-to-plastic ratio of ۱:۱۰. The products were categorized into liquid (gasoline, kerosene, and diesel fractions), gas (C۱–C۴ hydrocarbons), and solid residue (char). The chemical composition of the liquid oil was characterized using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) and FTIR. The experimental results reveal that the hierarchical Beta zeolite optimized the liquid fuel yield (۸۲.۴ wt.% at ۵۰۰oC) while maximizing the selectivity toward valuable C۵–C۱۲ gasoline-range hydrocarbons (۶۸.۵ vol.%). In contrast, HZSM-۵ promoted extensive cracking, yielding higher gaseous products (۳۸.۲ wt.%), while Al-MCM-۴۱ produced heavier diesel-range fractions due to its larger mesoporous structure. This work establishes a clear link between catalyst acidity, pore architecture, and fuel quality, providing critical empirical parameters for scaling up plastic-to-fuel refineries

کلیدواژه ها:

Plastic Waste ، Catalytic Pyrolysis ، Hierarchical Beta Zeolite ، Liquid Fuel ، GC-MS ، Circular Economy