A Preliminary Study on the Use of Highly Aromatic Pyrolysis Oils Coming from Plastic Waste as Alternative Liquid Fuels

In this work, the low-temperature pyrolysis of a real plastic mixture sample collected at a WEEE-authorised recycling facility has been investigated. The sample was pyrolysed in a batch reactor in different temperature and residence time conditions and auto-generated pressure by following a factorial design, with the objective of maximising the liquid (oil) fraction. Furthermore, the main polymers constituting the real sample were also pyrolysed in order to understand their role in the generation of oil. The pyrolysis oils were characterised and compared with commercial fuel oil number 6. The results showed that in comparison to commercial fuel oil, pyrolysis oils coming from WEEE plastic waste had similar heating values, were lighter and less viscous and presented similar toxicity profiles in fumes of combustion.

Automated summary

In this study, the low-temperature pyrolysis of a real plastic mixture sample collected from a WEEE-authorised recycling facility was investigated. The objective was to maximize the liquid fraction and understand the role of different polymers in the generation of oil. The pyrolysis oils obtained from WEEE plastic waste showed similar heating values and combustion toxicity as commercial fuel oil.