Thermal degradation of waste PVC and PE plastic was studied to produce hydrocarbon fuels. PVC plastic was degraded with 5% zinc oxide catalyst at 75-400°C, producing 35.6% liquid fuel. PE plastic was degraded with kaolin catalyst at 400-500°C, with liquid fuel yield increasing from 30.8% at 400°C to 86.65% at 500°C. The fuels produced consisted mainly of C10-C16 hydrocarbons that could potentially be used as refinery feedstocks or fuel.

1. PVC AND PE WASTE
TREATMENT TO
HYDROCARBON FUEL
PRESENTED BY
AHSAN GHANI
HASSANUDDIN NIZAMI
HASNEN AHMED
UMER HASAN AND RASHID KHAN

2. INTRODUCTION
 The increase of waste PVC is serious environmental problem issue for today.
 PVC plastic can serve as a potential resource with the correct treatment and its
converting as hydrocarbon raw materials or as a useful fuel.
 PVC plastic has high chlorine (Cl) content and percentage is 56% by total weight.

3. INTRODUCTION
 Chlorine component need to be removed by using alkali wash before using
produce fuel.
 Thermal degradation process with 5% Zinc Oxide (ZnO) can reduce chlorine
content result in polymer chain generating product with heavy molecular weight
and some uncontrolled Cl content.
 The thermal degradation of waste PVC produces only 35.6% of liquid product,
some light gas 34.47% and rest of residue29.93%.

4. INTRODUCTION
 Thermal degradation temperature was use 75-400 ºC.
 This produced fuel can be used for feedstock refinery for potential energy
generation.

5. EXPERIMENTAL PROCESS DESCRIPTION
 Waste plastic PVC to liquid hydrocarbon fuel production process into laboratory
scale was use thermal degradation process with 5% Zinc Oxide (ZnO) catalyst with
1% activated carbon and at temperature 75 - 400 ºC under atmospheric pressure in
presence of oxygen.
 Sample was using only polyvinyl chloride and experiment was performing fully
close system.
 Experimental purpose sample was use 75 gm and glass reactor was use.

6. PROCESS
 Reactor temperature range can go up to 450 ºC.
 Grinded waste plastic (PVC) fence sample put into reactor chamber with 5% Zinc
Oxide catalyst and 1% activated carbon then heat start from 75 ºC temperature to
up to 400 ºC.
 When PVC waste plastic start to melt due to temperature increase from melted
PVC waste plastic turn into liquid phase and liquid phase to turn into vapor, vapor
passing through condenser unit its becomes liquid form and it’s called plastic fuel.

7. PROCESS
 This PVC waste plastic to fuel conversion rate is 35.6%.
 This produced fuel density is 0.81 g. /ml.
 5% Zinc Oxide catalyst was use for remove chlorine content from this experiment
and no extra chemical used in this conversion process.

8. PROCESS
 During plastic converting to liquid fuel all vapor is not turn into fuel some vapor
portion is come out as a light gas because that gas boiling point is minus
temperature.
 Light gas cleaning purpose was use as an AgNO3 and NaOH/ NaHCO3 solution
and after wash light gases passing through also water wash and at the end we put
light gas into gas storage tank.

9. PROCESS
 Alkali wash and water wash was cleaning chorine content.
 Light gas percentage is 34.47%.
 From PVC waste plastic to fuel production total conversion rate is 70.07%.

10. PROCESS
 The produced PVC plastic to fuel passes through filter paper to remove fuel
sediment to making fuel clean and water and sediment come out separately its call
fuel sediment, this sediment and water we can retreat.

11. PROCESS
 When we collected fuels some chlorine contents are came out with fuel, this fuel
we passed through again Zinc Oxide solution to remove all chlorine content by
precipitation method.

12. PROCESS
 PVC waste plastic to fuel production period we are getting some black solid
residue and this residue percentage is 29.93%.

13. PROCESS
 Because PVC plastic has 56% chlorine contains and additives.
 Experimental run time was 5.45 hours.

14. MASS BALANCE
 In mass balance calculation showed 75 gm PVC to liquid fuel 26.7gm, light gas
25.85 gm and black solid residue 22.45 gm.

15. PVC WASTE PLASTIC TO FUEL PRODUCTION
PROCESS WITH 5% ZnO AND 1% ACTIVATED
CARBON

16. THERMO-CATALYTIC
DEGRADATION OF LOW
DENSITY POLYETHYLENE TO
LIQUID FUEL
POLYETYLENE (PE)

17. INTRODUCTION
 Waste low-density polyethylene samples were subjected to thermo-catalytic
degradation using kaolin as catalyst in a batch reactor at temperature range of 400
to 500°C and atmospheric pressure.

18. INTRODUCTION
 The quality and yield of the condensable product has been studied as a function of
temperature and amount of catalyst.
 Both in thermal and catalytic degradation, the condensable fraction was less
viscous liquid oil at low temperatures (up to 450°C), whereas with increase of
temperature (from 475°C) the fraction became viscous and waxy.

19. INTRODUCTION
 The recovery of condensable fraction increased from 30.8 wt. % at 400°C to 71.45%
at 450°C and further increased to a maximum of 86.65wt. % at 500°C in absence of
catalyst.
 The catalyst increased the yield of the condensable product and decreased the
reaction time.
 The catalyst increased the yield of the condensable product and decreased the
reaction time.

20. INTRODUCTION
 The composition of the oil obtained at optimum reaction condition was
characterized by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (and found consisting of
paraffin’s and olefins with mainly C10-C16 components.

21. MATERIALS
 The fine cuttings of waste polyethylene (PE) shopping bags (made of LDPE) of 2 cm
area were used for the pyrolysis experiments. The catalyst employed in this study,
commercial grade kaolin clay (Composition: SiO2 43.12%, Al2O3 46.07%, Fe2O3 nil,
MgO 0.027%, CaO 0.030%, ZnO 0.0064%, K2O 0.01%, TiO 20.74) at 1,000°C,
Surface area: 23m2/g, ammonia temperature programmed desorption (TPD)
acidity: 0.049 mmol/g (with mesoporous surface).

22. EXPERIMENTAL SETUP
 The experimental setup used in this work consists of a batch reactor made of
stainless steel (SS) tube (length – 145 mm, internal diameter – 37 mm and outer
diameter – 41 mm) sealed at one end and an outlet tube at other end.

23. EXPERIMENT
 The SS tube is heated externally by an electric furnace, with the temperature being
measured by a K type thermocouple fixed inside the reactor and temperature is
controlled by external proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller.
 PID controller was used to control temperature of the furnace.

24. EXPERIMENT
 20g of LDPE samples were loaded in each pyrolysis reaction. In the catalytic
pyrolysis, a mixture of catalyst and the plastic pieces in different catalyst to plastics
proportion (1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 1:4, 1:6, 1:10, 1:20) was subjected to decomposition in the
reactor set up and heated at a rate of 20°C/min. up to the desired temperature.

25. EXPERIMENT
 The condensable liquid products were collected through the condenser and
weighed.
 After completion of reaction, the carbonaceous solid residue left out inside the
reactor was weighed.
 Then the weight of gaseous product was calculated from the material balance.
 Reactions were carried out at different temperatures ranging from 400 to 500°C.

26. FIGURE