Application of thermal destruction processes for recycling of polymer waste

Abstract

A comprehensive study of thermal destruction of household and industrial polymeric materials wastes by the thermolysis method was carried out on the pilot plant. A mixture containing polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene and polyethylene terephthalate was considered as household polymeric waste. Individual industrial waste was represented by polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene. The influence of the composition of polymer waste, the temperature of the thermolysis process on the yield of gaseous and liquid products has been studied. A detailed analysis of the resulting products was carried out, their qualitative and quantitative composition was investigated. It was found that the change in temperature, duration of thermal processing, as well as the nature of polymer waste, allows us to control the composition and quality of the resulting products. The negative role of processing additives at the stage of polymer recycling is noted. It is shown that the thermolysis process is an effective tool for recycling polymer waste.