Catalytic hydropyrolysis of a model municipal waste plastic mixture over composite USY/SBA-16 catalysts

• Published in: Journal of analytical and applied pyrolysis Vol. 135; pp. 44 - 53
• Main Authors: Munir, Dureem, Usman, Muhammad Rashid
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.10.2018
• Subjects: Composite catalysts; Hydropyrolysis; Micro-mesoporous catalysts; Tertiary recycling; Waste plastics; Zeolites; PP; PS; Hydropyrolysis; Waste plastics; XRD; Zeolites; LDPE; HDPE; 2D; Composite catalysts; Py-FTIR; THF; FTIR; EDX; Tertiary recycling; FID; AIP; MW; Micro-mesoporous catalysts; BET; 3D; TEOS; SEM; PVC; TEM
• ISSN: 0165-2370; 1873-250X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jaap.2018.09.023

•Micro-mesoporous USY/SBA composite catalyst are synthesized.•The catalysts are well characterized and the desired micro-mesoporous structure is found in the catalysts.•Catalytic performance is evaluated by hydrocracking of model plastic mixture.•The composite catalysts are found more active and selective than the parent USY catalyst. Hydropyrolysis of a model municipal waste plastic mixture is studied using in-house composites of zeolite USY with mesoporous SBA-16. Three different TEOS/USY weight ratios such as 0.75, 0.92, and 1.2 are employed in the synthesis of the composite catalysts. For the comparison, a composite USY with mesoporous SBA-15 and a mesoporous Al-SBA-16 are also prepared. The catalysts are characterized by using SEM, TEM, EDX, XRD, N2-BET, FTIR, and py-FTIR. Hydropyrolysis performance of the catalysts is studied in a stirred autoclave reactor at initial cold hydrogen pressure of 20 bar and at three reaction temperatures of 375 °C, 400 °C, and 425 °C. The effect of residence time on the hydropyrolysis performance of the catalysts is also studied. The characterization results revealed that the crystallinity decreases with an increase in TEOS/USY ratio. It is found that the composites of USY/SBA-16 delivered more conversion and liquid yield compared to their parent USY catalyst.