Pyrolisis of Plastic Waste to Produce Pyrolytic Oil as an Alternative Fuel
The increasing amount of plastic waste often creates chronic problems to the environment. Many efforts have been made to reduce, as well as to reuse, the plastic waste. This study investigated the use of pyrolysis of plastic waste to produce fuel oil. Plastic carrier bags, considered a low-densi...
Main Authors: | , , , |
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Universitas Indonesia
2015-12-01
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Series: | International Journal of Technology |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://ijtech.eng.ui.ac.id/article/view/1502 |
Summary: | The increasing amount of plastic waste often
creates chronic problems to the environment. Many efforts have been made to
reduce, as well as to reuse, the plastic waste. This study investigated the use
of pyrolysis of plastic waste to produce fuel oil. Plastic carrier bags,
considered a low-density polyethylene (LDPE), were used as feed material. A
commercial natural zeolite was used as a catalyst to enhance the oil
conversion. Approximately one kilogram of plastic waste was loaded into the
reactor chamber and pyrolyzed. The reactor unit was equipped with an electrical
heater, a temperature controller, a condenser, and a flare system. The
pyrolysis process was conducted in the temperature range of 300?450°C. The experiments were ended after an hour, the time recorded from the
emergence of the flare flame. The oil product was collected from the bottom of
the condenser, and its volume was measured. The physical properties of oil,
such as specific gravity, kinematic viscosity, gross heating value, flash
point, and water content, were evaluated and compared to those of other
commercial fuels. The experimental results demonstrated that the optimum
temperature for pyrolysis of plastic waste was 350°C. At this temperature, the oil yield obtained was 52.6% (vol/w). In addition,
the physical properties analysis results showed that the oil product’s
properties were relatively closer to those of kerosene than to those of other
commercial fuels. |
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ISSN: | 2086-9614 2087-2100 |