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Conversion of Polyethylene to High-Yield Fuel Oil at Low Temperatures and Atmospheric Initial Pressure

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  • Yuanjia Zhang

    (Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
    School of Energy Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
    CAS Key Laboratory of Renewable Energy, Guangzhou 510640, China
    Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New and Renewable Energy Research and Development, Guangzhou 510640, China)

  • Xueru Chen

    (Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
    School of Energy Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
    CAS Key Laboratory of Renewable Energy, Guangzhou 510640, China
    Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New and Renewable Energy Research and Development, Guangzhou 510640, China)

  • Leilei Cheng

    (Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
    School of Energy Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
    CAS Key Laboratory of Renewable Energy, Guangzhou 510640, China
    Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New and Renewable Energy Research and Development, Guangzhou 510640, China)

  • Jing Gu

    (Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
    School of Energy Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
    CAS Key Laboratory of Renewable Energy, Guangzhou 510640, China
    Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New and Renewable Energy Research and Development, Guangzhou 510640, China)

  • Yulin Xu

    (Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
    School of Energy Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
    CAS Key Laboratory of Renewable Energy, Guangzhou 510640, China
    Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New and Renewable Energy Research and Development, Guangzhou 510640, China)

Abstract

The transformation of waste plastics into fuels via energy-efficient and low-cost pyrolysis could incentivize better waste plastic management. Here, we report pressure-induced phase transitions in polyethylene, which continue to heat up without additional heat sources, prompting the thermal cracking of plastics into premium fuel products. When the nitrogen initial pressure is increased from 2 to 21 bar, a monotonically increasing peak temperature is observed (from 428.1 °C to 476.7 °C). At 21 bar pressure under different atmosphere conditions, the temperature change driven by high-pressure helium is lower than that driven by nitrogen or argon, indicating that phase transition is related to the interaction between long-chain hydrocarbons and intercalated high-pressure medium layers. In view of the high cost of high-pressure inert gases, the promotion or inhibition effect of low-boiling hydrocarbons (transitioning into the gaseous state with increasing temperature) on phase transition is explored, and a series of light components are used as phase transition initiators to replace high-pressure inert gases to experiment. The reason that the quantitative conversion of polyethylene to high-quality fuel products is realized through the addition of 1-hexene at a set temperature of 340 °C and the initial atmospheric pressure. This discovery provides a method for recycling plastics by low energy pyrolysis. In addition, we envisage recovering some of the light components after plastic pyrolysis as phase change initiators for the next batch of the process. This method is able to reduce the cost of light hydrocarbons or high-pressure gas insertion, reduce heat input, and improve material and energy utilization.

Suggested Citation

  • Yuanjia Zhang & Xueru Chen & Leilei Cheng & Jing Gu & Yulin Xu, 2023. "Conversion of Polyethylene to High-Yield Fuel Oil at Low Temperatures and Atmospheric Initial Pressure," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-14, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:5:p:4048-:d:1079115
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    References listed on IDEAS

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