Reciclaje químico de plástico mediante pirólisis catalítica usando un catalizador regenerado

Abstract

The aim of the research was to produce alternative fuels through a catalytic pyrolysis process, using a regenerated catalyst with a polypropylene and polystyrene recycled plastic mixture as raw material. This process was carried out with a catalyst concentration of 1 and 2%, in order to analyze its effect on the performance of the products obtained. A batch-type complete mixing reactor was implemented during six consecutive hours in order to pyrolyze a mixture of 75% polystyrene and 25% polypropylene, together with 1% or 2% of the catalyst. The final liquid products obtained were analyzed with the use of FTIR spectroscopy technique, GC-MS chromatography and fuel tests. The performance of the liquid fraction was 50% for the catalytic pyrolysis with 1% of the catalyst, this is a mixture of aromatic compounds, olefins, naphthene and isoparaffinic, high percentage of total hydrocarbons and C12 - C28 compounds, while at 2% a performance of 48.50% was obtained with the same mixture of light and heavy fractions, but mostly light from C6 to C12 and a slightly lower percentage of total hydrocarbons in contrast to 1%. It was concluded that there is no statistically significant difference in the performance between the use of these two concentrations in catalytic pyrolysis with a regenerated catalyst, however they do differ in their physical-chemical properties and composition due to its acidity. It is recommended to check the pressure gauge and valves of the reactor permanently and carry out a vacuum filtration process when the established pressure has increased.