A review on Transforming plastic wastes into fuel

Authors

  • K. Manickavelan Department of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering Section, University of Technology and Applied Sciences - Salalah, Salalah - Oman
  • S. Ahmed Department of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering Section, University of Technology and Applied Sciences - Salalah, Salalah - Oman
  • K. Mithun Department of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering Section, University of Technology and Applied Sciences - Salalah, Salalah - Oman
  • P. Sathish Department of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering Section, University of Technology and Applied Sciences - Salalah, Salalah - Oman
  • R. Rajasekaran Department of Engineering, Chemical Engineering Section, University of Technology and Applied Sciences - Salalah, Salalah - Oman
  • N. Sellappan Department of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering Section, University of Technology and Applied Sciences - Salalah, Salalah - Oman

Keywords:

Plastic wastes, Pyrolysis, Liquid fuel, Energy recovery, Recycling

Abstract

The application of plastics in various sectors led to its increased production globally and this demand, in turn, caused an overflow of plastic waste in landfills, illegal dumping in the sea, and environmental pollution. To overcome this issue, several alternatives for managing plastic wastes have been developed and among them, reuse, recycling, and energy recovery methods are highly acknowledged methods. Nonetheless, recycling methods come with certain disadvantages like mixing and segregation of wastes, high labour costs associated with segregation and processing, by-product disposal, and its usage. Researchers have shifted their focus to energy recovery systems because of these drawbacks. Extensive research in this area led to the development of converting waste plastics into liquid fuel through the process called pyrolysis. The pyrolysis process can thermally degrade plastics in the absence of oxygenproducing oil and monomers. The temperature has the most impact on the pyrolysis process and depending on the types of plastic wastes, the pyrolysis temperature varies between 300 – 800 oC. The oil yield due to the variation in temperature varies between 45 – 95 wt.% and the calorific value of the oil has been observed to be in the range of 9679 – 11428.5 kCal/kg, which is similar to the other commercial fuels. Also, the review indicates that it is possible to extract up to 84% of fuel from 1-kg plastic at 360 oC. As a result, following refining/blending with conventional fuels, pyrolysis oil can be utilised as an alternate source of energy and transportation fuel. Apart from the temperature, the other influencing factors include, the reactor design and its size, pressure, heating rate, residence time and feedstock composition. The pyrolysis process was examined in terms of plastic types and primary process factors that impacted the end result, such as oil, gaseous, and char. Temperatures, reactor types, residence duration, pressure, catalysts, and other critical factors were examined in this work. Furthermore, the study examines technological problems and current advances.

Dimensions

W. A. Rasaq, M. Golonka, M. Scholz, and A. Bialowiec, “Opportunities and challenges of high-pressure fast pyrolysis of biomass: A review”, Energies 14 (2021) 120, doi:10.3390/en14175426.

S. D. Anuar Sharuddin, F. Abnisa, W. M. A. Wan Daud, and M. K. Aroua, “A review on pyrolysis of plastic wastes”, Energy Convers. Manag. 115 (2016) 308, doi:10.1016/j.enconman.2016.02.037.

F. Abnisa and W. M. A. Wan Daud, “A review on co-pyrolysis of biomass: An optional technique to obtain a high-grade pyrolysis oil”, Energy Convers. Manag. 87 (2014) 71, doi: 10.1016/j.enconman.2014.07.007.

S. D. A. Sharuddin, F. Abnisa, W. M. A. W. Daud, and M. K. Aroua, “Pyrolysis of plastic waste for liquid fuel production as prospective energy resource”, IOP Conf. Ser. Mater. Sci. Eng. 334 (2018) 012001, doi: 10.1088/1757-899X/334/1/012001.

S. Kumar and R. K. Singh, “Thermolysis of High-Density Polyethylene to Petroleum Products”, J. Pet. Eng. 2013 (2013) 1, doi: 10.1155/2013/987568.

I. Ahmad et al., “Pyrolysis study of polypropylene and polyethylene into premium oil products”, Int. J. Green Energy 12 (2015) 663 doi: 10.1080/15435075.2014.880146.

J. Park, S. S., Seo, D. K., Lee, S. H., Yu, T. U., & Hwang, “Study on pyrolysis characteristics of refuse plastic fuel using lab-scale tube furnace and thermogravimetric analysis reactor”, J. Anal. Appl. Pyrolysis 97 (2012) 29 doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaap.2012.06.009.

D. Oh, H. W. Lee, Y. M. Kim, and Y. K. Park, “Catalytic pyrolysis of polystyrene and polyethylene terephthalate over Al-MSU-F”, Energy Procedia 144 (2018) 111, doi:10.1016/j.egypro.2018.06.015.

M. N. Islam and M. R. A. Beg, “Fixed Bed Pyrolysis of Waste Plastic for Alternative Fuel Production”, J. Energy Environ. 3 (2004) 69.

Ö. and A. E. P. Cepeliogullar, “Utilization of Two Different Types of Plastic Wastes from Daily and Industrial Life.”, J. Selcuk Univ. Nat. Appl. Sci. (2013) 694.

S. Erdogan, “Recycling of Waste Plastics into Pyrolytic Fuels and Their Use in IC Engines”, in Intech, (2020) 137.

A. Vijayakumar and J. Sebastian, “Pyrolysis process to produce fuel from different types of plastic - A review”, IOP Conf. Ser. Mater. Sci. Eng. 396 (2018), 012062 doi: 10.1088/1757-899X/396/1/012062.

S. Kumar and R. K. Singh, “Recovery Of Hydrocarbon Liquid from Waste High Density Polyethylene By Thermal Pyrolysis” 28 (2011) 659.

W. P. Bagri R, “Catalytic pyrolysis of polyethylene”, J. Anal. Appl. Pyrolysis. 63 (2002) 29.

N. R. Marcilla A, Beltrán M, “Thermal and catalytic pyrolysis of polyethylene over HZSM5 and HUSY zeolites in a batch reactor under dynamic conditions”, Appl. Catal. B Environ. 86 (2009) 78.

C. Hundertmark, T., Mayer, M., McNally, C., Simons, T. J., Witte, “Business Trends: How plastics waste recycling could transform the chemical industry”, McKinsey & Co. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/chemicals/our-insights/how-plastics-waste-recycling-could-transform-the-chemical-industry (accessed Oct. 16, 2021).

Nordic Council, Hazardous substances in plastics. 2017.

T. Makhmari, “Briefings from Oman Waste Management”, Ithraa, Public Auth. Invest. Promot. Export Dev. (2016), [Online]. Available: https://ithraa.com/portals/0/IthraaPDF/Brochures/PDF/ithraa-briefings-waste-engAW.pdf.

N. Singh, D. Hui, R. Singh, I. P. S. Ahuja, L. Feo, and F. Fraternali, “Recycling of plastic solid waste: A state of art review and future applications”, Compos. Part B Eng. 115 (2017) 409 doi: 10.1016/j.compositesb.2016.09.013.

A. Merrington, “Recycling of Plastics”, in Applied Plastics Engineering Handbook, Elsevier Inc. (2011) 177.

S. Kumar, A. K. Panda, and R. K. Singh, “A review on tertiary recycling of high-density polyethylene to fuel”, Resources, Conservation and Recycling 55 (2011) 893, doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2011.05.005.

M. E. Grigore, “Methods of recycling, properties and applications of recycled thermoplastic polymers”, Recycling 2 (2017) 1, doi: 10.3390/recycling2040024.

S. M. Al-Salem, P. Lettieri, and J. Baeyens, “Recycling and recovery routes of plastic solid waste (PSW): A review”, Waste Management 29 (2009) 2625, doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2009.06.004.

A. Lee and M. S. Liew, “Tertiary recycling of plastics waste: an analysis of feedstock, chemical and biological degradation methods”, J. Mater. Cycles Waste Manag. 23 (2021) 32, doi: 10.1007/s10163-020-01106-2.

M. S. Qureshi et al., “Pyrolysis of plastic waste: Opportunities and challenges”, J. Anal. Appl. Pyrolysis 152 (2020) 104804, doi: 10.1016/j.jaap.2020.104804.

K. Ragaert, L. Delva, and K. Van Geem, “Mechanical and chemical recycling of solid plastic waste”, Waste Manag. 69 (2017) 24, doi: 10.1016/J.WASMAN.2017.07.044.

J. Lahtinen, “Thermolysis of plastic waste in bench-scale fluidized-bed reactor”, January, 2019, [Online]. Available: https://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/160174/Lahtinen-Joona.pdf?sequence=4.

M. S. Qureshi, A. Oasmaa, and C. Lindfords, “Thermolysis of plastic waste: Reactor comparison”, Pyroliq 2019 Pyrolysis Liq. biomass wastes, (2019).

“Fluid catalytic cracking is an important step in producing gasoline”, Independent Statistics & Analysis, U.S. Energy Information Administration, (2011).https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=9150 (accessed Jun. 07, 2021).

“Continuous Stirred Tank Reactors (CSTR) Flow Technology for Chemical and Biological Syntheses”, METTLER TOLEDO. https://www.mt.com/hk/en/home/products/L1-AutochemProducts/Chemical-Synthesis-and-Process-Development-Lab-Reactors/continuous-stirred-tank-reactors-cstr.html (accessed Jun. 09, 2021).

P. H. S. Dinesh Mohan, Charles U. Pittman Jr., “Pyrolysis of Wood/Biomass for Bio-oil: A Critical Review”, Energy Fuels 20 (2006) 848, doi: https://doi.org/10.1021/ef0502397.

I. Miskolczi, N, Angyal, A, Bartha, L, and Valkai, “Fuels by pyrolysis of waste plastics from agricultural and packaging sectors in a pilot scale reactor”, Fuel Process. Technol. 90 (2009) 1032, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuproc.2009.04.019.

S. Budsaereechai, A. J. Hunt, and Y. Ngernyen, “Catalytic pyrolysis of plastic waste for the production of liquid fuels for engines”, RSC Advances 9 (2019) 5844, doi:10.1039/c8ra10058f.

T. D. Zeynep Obali, Naime Asli Sezgi, “Catalytic degradation of polypropylene over alumina loaded mesoporous catalysts”, Chem. Eng. J. 207 (2012) 421, doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2012.06.146.

M. Syamsiro et al., “Liquid and Gaseous Fuel from Waste Plastics by Sequential Pyrolysis and Catalytic Reforming Processes over Indonesian Natural Zeolite Catalysts”, Waste Technol. 2 (2014) 44, doi: 10.12777/wastech.2.2.44-51.

J. and K.-H. L. Walendziewski, Feedstock Recycling and Pyrolysis of Waste Plastics: Converting Waste Plastics into Diesel and Other Fuels. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A. K. Panda, R. K. Singh, and D. K. Mishra, “Thermolysis of waste plastics to liquid fuel. A suitable method for plastic waste management and manufacture of value added products-A world prospective”, Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 14 (2010) 233, doi:10.1016/j.rser.2009.07.005.

K. Murata, K. Sato, and Y. Sakata, “Effect of pressure on thermal degradation of polyethylene”, J. Anal. Appl. Pyrolysis 71 (2004) 569, doi: 10.1016/j.jaap.2003.08.010.

M. Syamsiro et al., “Fuel oil production from municipal plastic wastes in sequential pyrolysis and catalytic reforming reactors”, Energy Procedia 47 (2014) 180, doi:10.1016/j.egypro.2014.01.212.

J. A. Onwudili, N. Insura, and P. T. Williams, “Composition of products from the pyrolysis of polyethylene and polystyrene in a closed batch reactor: Effects of temperature and residence time”, J. Anal. Appl. Pyrolysis 86 (2009) 293, doi: 10.1016/j.jaap.2009.07.008.

“Pour point”, Energy Insights by McKinsey. https://www.mckinseyenergyinsights.com/resources/refinreference-desk/pour-point/ (accessed Jul. 26, 2021).

J. Durkee, “Health and safety hazards associated with cleaning agents”, Manag. Ind. Clean. Technol. Process. (2006) 99, doi: 10.1016/B978-008044888-6/50017-X.

M. Z. H. Khan, M. Sultana, M. R. Al-Mamun, and M. R. Hasan, “Pyrolytic Waste Plastic Oil and Its Diesel Blend: Fuel Characterization”, J. Environ. Public Health 2016 (2016), doi: 10.1155/2016/7869080.

M. Syamsiro et al., “Fuel oil production from municipal plastic wastes in sequential pyrolysis and catalytic reforming reactors”, Energy Procedia 47 (2014) 180 , doi:10.1016/j.egypro.2014.01.212.

A. Jayswal, A. Kumar, P. Pradhananga, S. Rohit, and H. Bahadur, “Design, Fabrication and Testing of Waste Plastic Pyrolysis Plant”, Proc. IOE Grad. Conf. 5 (2017) 275, doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.33682.15044.

A. S. Nugroho, Rahmad, M. Chamim, and F. N. Hidayah, “Plastic waste as an alternative energy”, AIP Conf. Proc. 1977 2018, doi: 10.1063/1.5043022.

Y. Shukla, H. Singh, S. Sonkar, and D. Kumar, “Design Of Viable Machine To Convert Waste Plastic Into Mixed Oil For Domestic Purpose” 12 (2016) 9.

P. Harshal and L. Shailendra, “Waste plastic Pyrolysis oil Alternative Fuel for CI Engine- A Review”, Res. J. Eng. Sci. 2 (2013) 26.

A. Zadgaonkar, “Conversion of Waste Plastic into Liquid Hydrocarbons / Energy”, [Online]. Available: http://www.frantechasia.com/Downloads/Eco Friendly Plastic Fuel.pdf.

R. T. Karad and S. Havalammanavar, “Waste plastic to fuel-Petrol , Diesel , Kerosene”, Int. J. Eng. Dev. Res. 5 (2017) 641.

S. H. Jung, M. H. Cho, B. S. Kang, and J. S. Kim, “Pyrolysis of a fraction of waste polypropylene and polyethylene for the recovery of BTX aromatics using a fluidized bed reactor”, Fuel Process. Technol. 91 (2010) 277, doi: 10.1016/J.FUPROC.2009.10.009.

M. A. Martin-Lara, A. Piñar, A. Ligero, G. Blázquez, and M. Calero, “Characterization and use of char produced from pyrolysis of post-consumer mixed plastic waste”, Water (Switzerland) 13 (2021) 1, doi: 10.3390/w13091188.

S. Vivekanandhan, “Biochar Supercapacitors: Recent Developments in the Materials and Methods”, in Green and Sustainable Advanced Materials: Applications, II, C. M. H. Shakeel Ahmed, Ed. Scrivener Publishing LLC, 2018.

D. Spanu, G. Binda, C. Dossi, and D. Monticelli, “Biochar as an alternative sustainable platform for sensing applications: A review”, Microchem. J. 159 (2020) 105506, doi:10.1016/J.MICROC.2020.105506.

S. Pandey et al., “Graphene nanosheets derived from plastic waste for the application of DSSCs and supercapacitors”, Sci. Rep. 11 (2021) 3916, doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-83483-8.

P. Basu, Biomass Gasification and Pyrolysis Practical Design. Academic Press, 2010.

P. T. Williams and E. Slaney, “Analysis of products from the pyrolysis and liquefaction of single plastics and waste plastic mixtures”, Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 51 (2007) 754, doi:10.1016/J.RESCONREC.2006.12.002.

M. Sarker, “Converting waste plastic to hydrocarbon fuel materials”, Energy Eng. J. Assoc. Energy Eng. 108 (2011) 35, doi: 10.1080/01998595.2011.10389018.

B. K. Sharma, B. R. Moser, K. E. Vermillion, K. M. Doll, and N. Rajagopalan, “Production, characterization and fuel properties of alternative diesel fuel from pyrolysis of waste plastic grocery bags”, Fuel Process. Technol. 122 (2014) 79, doi:10.1016/J.FUPROC.2014.01.019.

N. Insura, J. Onwudili, P. T. Williams, and E. Engineering, “Converting Waste plastic To Gasoline-like Fuel at low temperature”, (2001).

S. M. Alston, A. D. Clark, J. C. Arnold, and B. K. Stein, “Environmental impact of pyrolysis of mixed WEEE plastics part 1: Experimental pyrolysis data”, Environ. Sci. Technol. 45 (2011) 9380, doi: 10.1021/es201664h.

A. T. Habtewold, D. A. Ambie, and W. B. Eremed, “Solar assisted pyrolysis system for High-Density polyethylene plastic waste to fuel conversion”, AIMS Energy 8 (2020) 455, doi: 10.3934/energy.2020.3.455.

C. Ghenai, K. Alamara, and A. Inayat, “Solar Assisted Pyrolysis of Plastic Waste: Pyrolysis oil Characterization and Grid-Tied Solar PV Power System Design”, Energy Procedia 159 (2019) 123, doi: 10.1016/J.EGYPRO.2018.12.029.

“Solar-powered unit turns plastic waste into fuel oil”, The New Indian Express, 2018.

G. A. L. Guozhan Jiang, Jiawei Wang, Sultan.M. Al-Salem, “Molten Solar Salt Pyrolysis of Mixed Plastic Waste: Process Simulation and Technoeconomic Evaluation”, Energy Fuels 34 (2020) 7397, doi: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.0c01052.

D. Ghosh, S. K. Bandyopadhyay, and G. S. Taki, “Green Energy Harvesting from Waste Plastic Materials by Solar Driven Microwave Pyrolysis”, 2020 4th Int. Conf. Electron. Mater. Eng. Nano-Technology, IEMENTech (2020), doi:10.1109/IEMENTech51367.2020.9270122.

R. Miandad et al., “Catalytic pyrolysis of plastic waste: Moving toward pyrolysis based biorefineries”, Front. Energy Res. 7 (2019) 1, doi: 10.3389/fenrg.2019.00027.

R. Kumar Mishra and K. Mohanty, “Co-pyrolysis of waste biomass and waste plastics (polystyrene and waste nitrile gloves) into renewable fuel and value-added chemicals”, Carbon Resour. Convers. 3 (2020) 145, doi: 10.1016/j.crcon.2020.11.001.

A. Alshammari, V. N. Kalevaru, and A. Martin, “Bimetallic Catalysts Containing Gold and Palladium for Environmentally Important Reactions”, 2016, doi: 10.3390/catal6070097.

G. Fadillah, I. Fatimah, I. Sahroni, and M. M. Musawwa, “Recent Progress in Low-Cost Catalysts for Pyrolysis of Plastic”, 2021.

N. Cai et al., “Bimetallic carbon nanotube encapsulated Fe-Ni catalysts from fast pyrolysis of waste plastics and their oxygen reduction properties”, Waste Manag. 109 (2020) 119, doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2020.05.003.

H. Zhou, J. M. Saad, Q. Li, and Y. Xu, “Steam reforming of polystyrene at a low temperature for high H2/CO gas with bimetallic Ni-Fe/ZrO2 catalyst”, Waste Manag. 104 (2020) 42, doi: 10.1016/J.WASMAN.2020.01.017.

L. Yao, J. King, D. Wu, S. S. C. Chuang, and Z. Peng, “Non-thermal plasma-assisted hydrogenolysis of polyethylene to light hydrocarbons”, Catal. Commun. 150 (2021) 106274, doi: 10.1016/J.CATCOM.2020.106274.

M. M. Harussani, S. M. Sapuan, U. Rashid, A. Khalina, and R. A. Ilyas, “Pyrolysis of polypropylene plastic waste into carbonaceous char: Priority of plastic waste management amidst COVID-19 pandemic”, Sci. Total Environ. 803 (2022) 149911, doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149911.

Published

2022-02-27

How to Cite

A review on Transforming plastic wastes into fuel. (2022). Journal of the Nigerian Society of Physical Sciences, 4(1), 64-74. https://doi.org/10.46481/jnsps.2022.364

Issue

Volume 4, Issue 1, February 2022

Section

Review Article
Copyright & Licensing

Copyright (c) 2022 Journal of the Nigerian Society of Physical Sciences

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

A review on Transforming plastic wastes into fuel. (2022). Journal of the Nigerian Society of Physical Sciences, 4(1), 64-74. https://doi.org/10.46481/jnsps.2022.364