Yield and Heating Value of Fuel from Plastic Waste
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Date
2017
Authors
Ibrahim, Bajes
Abu Jalboosh, Hazem
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Abstract
Abstract
The use of plastic material is increased nowadays, where they are used in versatile applications replacing traditional material. This use leads to huge amounts of waste cause different environmental problems.
Polymer wastes in developing countries are mainly discarded in dumpsites and landfills in addition to little quantities are being recycled to limited products. Throwing wastes in landfills will occupy large spaces due to no biodegradability of plastics affecting adversely the environment and stored ground water.
New trends are utilized today in the word for minimizing the adverse effect of these wastes like recycling of plastic and cracking it into fuels either by thermal or catalytic methods.
The present work involves the study of yield and heating value of liquid fuels produced by the thermal cracking of different plastics waste such as Polypropylene (PP), Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) and Medium Density Polyethylene (MDPE) using a batch reactor. From the study, it was found that, the maximum oil yield in thermal pyrolysis achieved with Low Density Polyethylene (56.4 %) at 500 Co, while the highest conversion occurred at Medium Density Polyethylene with a value of (100%) at 550 Co. The fuel properties of the oil obtained from the thermal pyrolysis of polypropylene, low density polyethylene and medium density polyethylene are similar with that of diesel fuels, since their heating value were calculated and found to be near that of diesel. It was observed that the heating value of liquid fuel produced from thermal cracking of plastic samples measured by bomb calorimeter ranges between (42000- 46000 J/g), this can be an indication that produced fuels could be used after certain purification as an engine fuel component or as a feedstock to petroleum processes.