Pyrolysis Kinetics of Waste High-density Polyethylene using Thermogravimetric Analysis

Thermal behavior of plastic materials can be improved by knowing thermal degradation kinetics for the optimal design and operation of pyrolysis process. In the present study, thermogravimetric analysis has been used for the non-isothermal kinetic study of waste high-density polyethylene pyrolysis under nitrogen atmosphere at different heating rates 10, 20 and 40 °C/min. The kinetic parameters, activation energy and preexponential factor of waste HDPE pyrolysis were determined by the integral method. A first order degradation reaction was assumed, the activation energy values of waste HDPE have been calculated as 207.43, 268.22 and 473.05 kJ/mol at 10, 20 and 40 °C/min heating rates respectively. It was observed that when the heating rate increases, the activation energy and degradation temperature of the waste HDPE also increases.