Novel Process for Recycling Waste Plastics To Fuel Gas Using a Moving-Bed Reactor

• Published in: Energy & fuels Vol. 20; no. 1; pp. 155 - 158
• Main Authors: Kodera, Yoichi, Ishihara, Yumiko, Kuroki, Takeshi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Chemical Society 01.01.2006
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Energy; Exact sciences and technology; Fuel processing. Carbochemistry and petrochemistry; Fuels; Solid fuel processing (coal, coke, brown coal, peat, wood, etc.); Pyrolysis; Gaseous fuel; Sand; Hydrocarbon; Propylene polymer; Reaction time; Moving bed reactor; Catalysis; Recycling; Fuel oil; Plastic waste
• ISSN: 0887-0624; 1520-5029
• DOI: 10.1021/ef0502655

The conventional pyrolysis of waste plastics, carried out in a tank reactor or kiln, yields fuel oil with a wide boiling range. To improve the economic process of feedstock recycling of waste plastics, a new thermal process for fuel-gas production is proposed. Considering the role of sand as an effective heating medium and by using a reactor structure for suitably controlling the reaction temperature and reaction time, a new type of reactor equipped with a screw conveyor has been developed; this reactor is termed the moving-bed reactor. The formation of gaseous hydrocarbons was achieved at 82 wt % (pyrolysis) and 94 wt % (catalysis) in the operations research of the new process using polypropylene as feed.