Ex-situ catalytic upgrading of vapors from microwave-assisted pyrolysis of low-density polyethylene with MgO

Liangliang Fan, Yaning Zhang, Shiyu Liu, Nan Zhou, Paul Chen, Yuhuan Liu, Yunpu Wang, Peng Peng, Yanling Cheng, Min Addy, Hanwu Lei, Roger Ruan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

142 Scopus citations

Abstract

Ex-situ catalytic upgrading of vapors from microwave-assisted pyrolysis of LDPE using MgO as the base catalyst was investigated and the effects of catalyst to reactant ratio, pyrolysis temperature, and catalytic reaction temperature on the yields and chemical profiles of products were examined. 24.2–38.5 wt.% of ex-situ upgraded liquid yield were obtained under varied reaction conditions. Productive gas yield (higher than 56.6 wt.%) and low solid residue yield (less than 7.1 wt.%) were obtained as long as the pyrolysis temperature was over 500 °C during the ex-situ upgrading process. The coke yield was negligible, ranging from 0.14 wt.% to 1.94 wt.% based on LDPE mass. The conversion of alkenes to aromatics was improved at higher catalyst to feedstock ratios, higher pyrolysis temperatures, and higher catalytic reaction temperatures. The total percentage of gasoline fraction in the upgraded pyrolysis oil ranged from 79.5% (37.3% mono-aromatics and 42.2% C5-C12 aliphatics) to 96.0% (39.7% mono-aromatics and 56.3% C5-C12 aliphatics) under various conditions, compared with 10.5% mono-aromatics and 30.2% C5-C12 aliphatics from non-catalytic pyrolysis. The main composition of gas product was hydrogen, C1-C3 olefins and paraffins, varying with reaction condition. Both free radical and carbanion mechanisms for the conversion of LDPE with MgO were proposed.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)432-441
Number of pages10
JournalEnergy Conversion and Management
Volume149
DOIs
StatePublished - 2017

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Elsevier Ltd

Keywords

  • Ex-situ upgrading
  • LDPE
  • Mechanism
  • MgO
  • Microwave-assisted pyrolysis

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