Liquid Products from Ternary, Quaternary, and Quinary Co-pyrolysis of Waste Plastics and Residual Fuel Oil: Characterization and Potential Applications

Abstract

With the rapidly depleting fossil fuel reserves amid growing demand for energy, recycling heavy fuel residues from refineries and other petrochemical derivatives like plastic waste, which are available in abundance, can be an unexplored raw material for energy retrieval. Effective and environmentally friendly methods of pyrolysis technique can be employed to generate renewable energy. Co-pyrolysis of heavy petrochemical and waste plastics petrochemical residues to establish their physical and chemical characteristics and apprehend the prospective of the products for possible applications. In our ongoing research, we are currently categorizing the consequential liquid output through the simultaneous treatment of plastic waste alongside residual fuel oil (RFO) in a constant temperature setting. Characterization techniques, including Carbon-13, Proton NMR (¹³C NMR &¹H NMR), Gel permeation chromatography (GPC), ultimate analyzer, Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and bomb calorimetry were utilized to characterize the liquid yield products. Further, fuel properties, including pour point, flashpoint, and density, were also investigated. The study revealed a significant reduction of molecular weight as a consequence of Co-pyrolysis, a drop in the protonated aromatic carbons, and an upsurge in the abundance of aliphatic carbons (saturated) with aliphatic complexes as the chief component was witnessed in the spectrum. The pour point of the liquid derived from co-processing was measured to be within the range of 18–25 °C, while the calorific energy of the liquid sample generated through Co-pyrolysis was determined to fall between 43–45 MJ/kg. Through the study, it has been discovered that co-pyrolysis of waste polymer with RFO can be an alternative route of waste recovery for sustainable solutions and the transformation of waste into valuable secondary added-value chemical products and energy sources.