Catalytic Depolymerization of Polyolefinic Plastic Waste

Abstract

In a circular economy, processes such as the pyrolysis of polyolefin plastic waste must be established for naphtha cracker feedstock production. However, the composition of the plastic waste used has a strong influence on the conversion process and the heteroatom content, and thus on the quality of the pyrolysis oils. In this work, the influence of critical plastic components (e.g., polyamide 6) on the catalytic cracking of polyethylene (PE-HD) in a batch rotary kiln reactor was investigated and a cost-effective concept for integrating chemical recycling into a steam cracking plant was proposed.