Revalorización energética de residuos plásticos urbanos mediante pirólisisestudio termodinámico, experimentación, aplicación y usos

Abstract

Pyrolysis is a very important and developing technology for the energetic use of urban plastic waste. The present study has as its objective the experimentation of both thermal and catalytic pyrolysis of urban plastic waste and especially the experimentation of the use of the liquid fraction obtained in industrial applications. For this purpose, a demonstration was carried out in the garbage dump of the city of Riobamba-Ecuador of the solid waste during 10 days for three months, for its subsequent classification and characterization. By means of thermogravimetry, the kinetics and thermodynamics of the degradation reaction are analyzed, which provides information on the maximum degradation temperature and the greater tendency to the duration of one plastic or another. Subsequently, experiments are carried out in a batch reactor at low temperatures and the best plastic or mixture of plastics is determined according to the yield of the liquid fraction and its physicochemical properties. In addition, the possibility of a regenerated FCC catalyst for catalytic pyrolysis by means of chemical and thermal regeneration is analyzed. Once the properties are analyzed, the use of this pyrolytic oil in industrial applications is proposed, reaching about 4000 kilograms per day of polypropylene and polystyrene, from which 1632 kilograms of refined pyrolytic oil can be produced for use in industrial applications. The oil obtained from polystyrene was applied as a fuel oil fluidizer in replacement of cutter stock giving excellent results of viscosity decrease and good stability maintaining its caloric power; while the mixture of 25% polypropylene and 75% polystyrene generates a pyrolytic oil with characteristics closer to diesel, so it was used as an additive showing a good behavior in an industrial burner, as well as good results in operation in an engine.