Pyrolysis of Waste Polystyrene and High-Density Polyethylene

As the rate of consumption of plastic materials in the world is greatly expanded, more waste plastics are generated. In recent years, their generation amount in Korea becomes about four million tons per year, according to data from the National Institute of Environmental Research. The disposal of waste plastic is mostly achieved by conventional ways such as landfill or incineration. However, these methods have a problem of a social resistance due to the air pollution, soil contamination, and the economical resistance caused by an increase of a space and a disposal cost. Thus, the recycling of plastic wastes as a cheap source of raw materials has become a predominant subject over all countries. The development of technologies acceptable from the environmental and economical fields is one of the most important key factors.