University of the Punjab Conference Portal, 2nd International Conference on Engineering Sciences

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The Use of Mesoporous Catalysts for the Hydrocracking of a Model Plastic Mixture
Dureem Munir, Muhammad Rashid Usman, Mahmood Saleem

Last modified: 2015-11-20

Abstract


The consumption of plastics has been increasing worldwide due to the advantages derived from them such as light weight, durability, good insulation properties, low cost, etc. This massive use of plastics is resulting into the production of gigantic plastic waste. Conventional plastic waste management methods including incineration and landfilling are considered unacceptable from environmental point of view whereas chemical recycling methods such as cracking and hydrocracking are encouraged all over the world. Hydrocracking of waste plastic is a valued method to convert a plastic material at lower temperatures and to obtain a higher quality liquid fuel. In the present study, various mesoporous catalysts are synthesized, well characterized, and tested for the hydrocracking of a model plastic mixture consisting of HDPE, LDPE, PP, and PS. The hydrocracking reactions are carried out in a high pressure autoclave reactor for fixed cold hydrogen pressure of 20 bar, 400 °C temperature, residence time of 50 min, and feed to catalyst ratio of 10:0.5 (by wt). The conversion and yields of the products are obtained by solvent extraction and GC-FID is used for the analysis of gas and oil fractions. The mesoporous catalysts used in the study are found capable of obtaining the high yield as well as the superior quality of oil from the hydrocracking reactions.


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