Co-pyrolysis of Karanja and Niger seeds with waste polystyrene to produce liquid fuel

In this work, pyrolysis technology was used to convert biomass and waste to energy. Polystyrene wastes (Thermocol) were co-pyrolyzed with non-edible seed (such as Karanja and Niger) to enhance the quality of pyrolytic oil. The aim was to enhance the calorific value, cold flow properties and to reduce the viscosity of co-pyrolytic oil. For that purpose, waste polystyrene was mixed with the seeds in different proportions. The yield and quality of co-pyrolytic oil was compared with the thermal pyrolytic oil of these seeds as reported in literature. This study confirmed that co-pyrolysis of waste polystyrene and seed not only enhanced the conversion of seed to product but also significantly affected the co-pyrolytic oil fuel properties. Viscosity of the co-pyrolytic oil was reduced with increasing the ratio of seed to waste polystyrene. Similarly, higher calorific value co-pyrolytic oil was obtained at 2:1 ratio compared to other ratios. The comparison between the seed thermal pyrolytic oil and co-pyrolytic oil confirmed that co-pyrolysis of waste polystyrene and biomass altered the composition of pyrolytic oil which had a positive influence on the quality of co-pyrolytic oil. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.