Recycling of plastic wastes via pyrolysis

Pyrolysis for the simultaneous generation of oils and gases can be convenient to obtain hydrocarbons and even to recover crude petrochemicals or to generate energy from waste plastics. A Gray-King apparatus has been used to pyrolyze waste polyethylene (PE), polystyrene (PS), both separately and with different compositions. Thermogravimetric analysis of waste plastics indicated the critical temperatures, which should be effective for pyrolysis. The chosen heating rate was low in order to achieve higher liquid yields. The results showed that waste PS yielded higher liquid, and waste PE yielded higher gaseous products. The dominant liquid product of PS waste was styrene whereas for waste PE, prophenylbenzene was the dominant pyrolysis product. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.