Regainingofhydrocarbonliquidsfrom Discardedpolyethylene By Thermolysis in semi Batch Reactor

Thermolysis of waste plastics in an inert atmosphere has been gazed at as a useful method, because this technique can convert waste plastics into hydrocarbons that can be used either as fuels or as other valued chemicals. In this work, waste polyethylene (PE) was chosen as the raw material for thermolysis. A well designed semi batch reactor has been used for thermolysis of waste polyethylene (PE) with the objective of enhancing the liquid product yield at a temperature range of 350oC to 500oC. Results of thermolysis experiments showed that, at a temperature of 400oC and below the major product of the thermolysis was oily liquid which became a viscous liquid or waxy solid at temperatures above 425oC. The yield of the liquid fraction obtained increased with the residence time for waste polyethylene (PE). The oily liquid fractions obtained were examined for composition using FTIR and GC-MS. The physical properties of the thermolytic oil show the presence of a mixture of different fuel fractions such as gasoline, kerosene and diesel in the oil.