International Journal of Science, Engineering and Technology Research (IJSETR)

Volume 8, Issue 12, December 2019, ISSN: 2278 -7798

DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT, MODELING AND SIMULATION OF A PYROLYSIS REACTOR FROM

WASTE MATERIALS

1*
Dolor Gregory A. and 2Edema Anthony O.
1,2
Department of Mechanical of Engineering, Delta State Polytechniques, Otefe-Oghara, Delta State
vokgreg@gmail.com

generation. The method and principal of the

ABSTRACT
Plastics have become very important in today’s world.
Due to their light weight, durability, design flexibility,
they are excessively used in industry as well as
household and other fields. The demand for plastic is
increasing day by day which now pose a tremendous
threat to the environment. This study focuses on the
design and fabrication of machine to convert plastic
into oil as an effort in finding environment-friendly
means of waste recycling by means of pyrolysis, this
device is called a pyrolysis reactor. It is an alternative
solution to increasing problem of waste disposal.
Pyrolysis keeps running without oxygen and in high
temperature of around 250°C for which reactor is
manufactured to give the expected temperature to the
response. Pyrolysis process becomes an option of
waste-to-energy technology to deliver bio-fuel to
replace fossil fuel. The advantage of the pyrolysis
process is its ability to handle unsort and dirty plastic.
Pyrolysis is also nontoxic or non-environmental
harmful emission unlike incineration. In this
investigation, plastic waste is utilized for pyrolysis to
get fuel oil that has comparable physical properties as
the energizes like petroleum, diesel and so on
Converting waste plastics into fuel hold great
promise for both the environmental and economic
scenarios. The increased demand and high price for
energy sources are driving efforts to convert organic
compounds into useful hydrocarbon fuels. Although
much of this work has focused on biomass, there are
strong benefits to deriving fuels from waste plastic
material. Waste plastic is abundant and its disposal
creates large problems for the environment. Plastic
does not break down in landfills, it is not easily
recycled and degrades in quality during the recycling
process, and it can produce waste ash, heavy metals,
and potentially harmful gas emissions if incinerated
at high temperatures. However, thermal processes
can be used to convert plastics into hydrocarbon fuels
such as gasoline, diesel, aviation / jet fuel, which
have unlimited applications in airline industries,
helicopter, heavy transportation, and electricity
production / process will be discussed.
INTRODUCTION
Pyrolysis is the thermal decomposition of materials
at elevated temperatures in an inert atmosphere. That
is, in the absence of oxygen. It involves a change in
chemical composition and is irreversible. The
pyrolysis reactor we designed uses plastic as the
material. Plastics are one of the most commonly used
materials in our daily life and offer remarkable
contribution to the society. They are widely used in
packaging and manufacture of products including
electronic, automotive, etc. Plastics are light weight
and can be simply formed. They show non-corrosive
behaviour. They are reusable and conserve natural
resources. https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Pyrolysis;
SCPrabhu et. al. (2019); Abhishek et. al. (2019)
Plastics have high molecular mass. They are
synthetic organic materials produced by
polymerization. Pyrolysis involves the heating and
degradation of the polymeric materials at
temperatures between 250°C and 350°C without
oxygen bringing about the arrangement of a
carbonized singe (strong deposits) and an
unpredictable division which might be isolated into
condensable hydrocarbon oil and a non-condensable
high caloric esteem gas. The types of plastics and
their composition will condition the conversion
process and will determine the pre-treatment
requirements, the combustion temperature for the
conversion and therefore the energy consumption
required, the fuel quality output, the flue gas
composition (e.g. formation of hazardous flue gases
such as NOx and HO), the fly ash and bottom ash
composition, and the potential of chemical corrosion
of the equipment. Major factors to be considered
while selection are; Smooth feeding for equipment,
Effective conversion and Well-controlled combustion.
Abhishek et. al. (2019)

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 International Journal of Science, Engineering and Technology Research (IJSETR)
Scheirs and Kaminsky, (2006) expressed that gases
framed amid the pyrolysis of natural material
incorporate carbon monoxide, hydrogen, methane,
carbon dioxide, water, and hydrocarbons, similar to
ethane, ethane, propane, propane, butane, and so
forth. The temperature and heating rates can be
controlled to produce desired solid, gas and liquid
products because they have considerable influence in
the pyrolysis process. Yin have considered pyrolysis
of waste plastic as one of the most feasible large-
scale methods of energy regeneration. This is because
waste plastic is a valuable source of liquid and gas
fuels as well as chemicals.
Mainly there are two types of plastics: thermoplastics
and thermosetting plastic. If enough heat is supplied,
thermoplastics can be softened and melted repeatedly.
On cooling, they are hardened, so that they can be
made into new plastics products. Examples are
polyethylene terephthalate, polystyrene, polyvinyl
chloride etc. They are recyclable. Thermosets or
thermosetting plastics can be melted and shaped only
once. It is not good to repeatedly heat treat such
plastics; therefore, they remain in solid state after
they have been solidified. Examples are epoxy resin,
phenol formaldehyde and urea formaldehyde.
1.1. Pyrolysis process
Pyrolysis is the chemical decomposition of organic
substances by heating the word is originally coined
from the Greek-derived elements pyro "fire" and
pyrolysis "decomposition". Pyrolysis is usually the
first chemical reaction that occurs in the burning of
many solid organic fuels, cloth, like wood, and paper,
and also of some kinds of plastic. Pyrolysis
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Volume 8, Issue 12, December 2019, ISSN: 2278 -7798
technology is thermal degradation process in the
absence of oxygen. Plastic waste is treated in a
cylindrical reactor at temperature of 300ºC – 350ºC.
the plastic melts in the reactor and as it is further
heated it begins to release gas in the reactor. The gas
flows through pipes into a water tank where it
condenses to form biofuel or fuel oil. The biofuel
produced exhibits properties similar to diesel and
petrol and as such can be used as an alternative to
both. Nowadays plastics waste is very harmful to our
nature also for human beings. Plastic is not easily
decomposable its affect in fertilization, atmosphere,
mainly effect on ozone layer so it is necessary to
recycle these waste plastic into useful things. So we
recycle this waste plastic into a useful fuel. The
advantage of this process is its ability to handle
unsort and dirty plastic. it is also non-toxic and no
harmful emissions are released to the environment
2.0 METHODOLOGY
2.1 Design requirements or considerations
1. The reactor must be able to withstand high
temperatures
2. The reactor material must have low density
so that the plastic vaporizes more easily and
more oil is obtained
3. The reactor must be off the sufficient size
for maximum yield of biofuel
4. The moisture content of the plastics must be
low to increase oil yield
5. The feed rate must be sufficient enough for
maximum oil yield
6. The heating rate must be high for maximum
yield
2.2 Design concept and selection
Various design concepts were selected as shown
below.
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 International Journal of Science, Engineering and Technology Research (IJSETR)
Volume 8, Issue 12, December 2019, ISSN: 2278 -7798

Figure 1: First CAD of pyrolysis reactor

This was the original concept that was chosen for the
project. However, this design proved to be ineffective
because after fabrication no oil could be obtained
from it. We discovered that one of the reasons for
this was leakages in the reactor and pipe. We
observed that as we commenced the pyrolysis process
there were leakages in certain areas of the reactor
particularly areas that were riveted and in the pipes
where the pipe was connected to elbows. We tried to
fix this by applying fillers to the areas where the
leakage occurred but that proved to be ineffective.
well even though there were leakages some of the gas
still flowed through the pipe into the oil collector but
the gas did not condense. All our efforts to fix this
proved to be in vain hence, we decided a new design
was needed.
2.3 Description of selected design

Figure 2: second CAD of the pyrolysis reactor

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 International Journal of Science, Engineering and Technology Research (IJSETR)
Volume 8, Issue 12, December 2019, ISSN: 2278 -7798

This was the next concept that was chosen we
decided to make a cylindrical vessel from a metal
sheet and insert it into the metal container that we
used for our last experiment. A mixture of sand,
sawdust was used placed in the space between the
two cylinders as a form of lagging to prevent heat
loss in the reactor. The sand and saw dust mixture
was mixed further with cement and used to cover the
top of the reactor to prevent heat loss and also
leakage. The reactor was connected to a condensing
tank using a pipe arrangement and the tank was
connected to a plastic container filled with water to
collect the biofuel.
2.4 Design specifications
The various parts of the reactor and their dimensions
are shown below

Figure 3: exploded view of pyrolysis reactor

The part dimensions are shown below

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 International Journal of Science, Engineering and Technology Research (IJSETR)
Volume 8, Issue 12, December 2019, ISSN: 2278 -7798

Figure 4: 2D CAD of pyrolysis reactor

3.0 METHODS AND MATERIALS OF Reactor shell (Moss and Basic, 2013)
CONSTRUCTION

3.1 Materials and parts used 磨

쳌 䁠 䳌

i. Metal sheet Design of condenser Serth, (2007), Acharya et.

ii. Pressure gauge al. (2012)
iii. Temperature gauge
iv. Pipe Heat taken by m mass of solid plastics
v. AB gum
vi. Hose until it starts melting at Temperature, T
vii. Water
viii. Heat source 磨t
ix. Hack saw
Heat required to completely melt m plastics at
x. Dispenser tank
temperature, T
xi. Sand
xii. saw dust 磨t Ẃ
xiii. cement
xiv. cylindrical metal container Heat absorbed by m mass of liquid plastics until it
xv. bolts and nuts attains a temperature of 4500C
xvi. fire wood
xvii. paint Ẃ 磨t Ẃ
xviii. plastics
Heat required for pyrolysis
3.2 MATHEMATICAL MODELING

Design of reactor

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 International Journal of Science, Engineering and Technology Research (IJSETR)
Volume 8, Issue 12, December 2019, ISSN: 2278 -7798

Ẃ Logarithmic mean temperature difference ( 㤱 ⸱㌵

磨t ୗ  ‫ ݍ‬݅ ֐ ‫ݕ֐ ݕ‬ ‫ݍ‬ ୗ ֐ ୗ ֐‫ݏ‬
T 䁠 T
LMTD 磨
Heat transfer required T
ln
T
֐ ୗ ୗ ୗe ‫ ݍ‬݅
磨
t ୗ ‫ݏ‬
Plastic vapour production rate 3. 3 METHOD OF CONSTRUCTION
STEP I: Fabrication of the Reactor
ୗ ୗ‫ ݏ‬ ୗ 
磨
ୗ ‫ݏ‬ ୗ ֐ ୗ ֐‫ ݍ‬ୗ ֐‫ݏ‬ The metal sheet was rolled and welded to form a
cylinder. The top and bottom of the cylinder was then
Mass flow rate of oil vapour covered by welding circular sheets on them.After the
Plastic vapour production rate construction, the whole reactor was checked in order
t 磨 to avoid leakages on the reactor. This was done by
t
putting water in the container and checking for points
Heat load in condenser where water would leak out from. This is to ensure a
safe and precise experiment as leakages can cause
磨 t e explosion and the experiment might not be able to
֐
achieve its aim.Two bores were made on the top
Mass flow rate of water,
surface of the cylinder one for the entrance and the
other was boredwith a diameter same as that of the
t 磨
e ֐ 䁠 pipe which the gas will pass through. Before the pipe
was then welded to it

Figure 5: pyrolysis reactor fabrication

STEP II: Lagging of the Reactor
After the cylinder was constructed, it was fixed into
another cylinder of larger diameter. The space
between the two cylinders was filled with a mixture
of sand and saw dustin order for the reactor to be
lagged properly so as to reduce heat loss. The top of
the reactor was also lagged with a mixture of saw
dust, sand and cement.

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 International Journal of Science, Engineering and Technology Research (IJSETR)
Volume 8, Issue 12, December 2019, ISSN: 2278 -7798

Figure 6: Pyrolysis reactor connecting fittings

STEP III: Sealing of the Entrance
The aim of the construction of the reactor is to
produce oil while the plastics burn under the absence
of oxygen. Since that is the case, the reactor must be
air tight to avoid the flow of air (oxygen) into the
reactor while the plastics are burning. In the course of
constructing the reactor, the entrance which the
plastics are to enter into the reactor was ensured to be
tight using nuts and bolts to tighten the input opening
of the reactor. However, the plastic was loaded in the
reactor before it was sealed

Figure 7: pyrolysis reactor showing sealing of entrance

condenser. The condenser was constructed by boring

STEP IV: Construction of the Condenser
The gas that evolved from the reactor via the pipe
from the burning plastics was directed to the
two adjacent holes on opposite surfaces on the plastic
dispenser tank. Two hoses were connected to the to
both holes on the condenser; one connecting the
condenser to the reactor and the other connecting the
condenser tank to the collecting container

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 International Journal of Science, Engineering and Technology Research (IJSETR)
Volume 8, Issue 12, December 2019, ISSN: 2278 -7798

Figure 8: condenser construction

STEP V: Operation then it flowed into the collecting tank where it

The pyrolysis process was started. The reactor was
placed in a firewood arrangement and heated up. At
about 320°C gas began to form from the plastic the
gas flowed through the pipe into the condenser and
formed the bio oil. The entire process took about 3
hours. The oil we obtained is shown below. This oil
showed the properties of a normal fuel in that it
combusts just a normal fuel does.

Figure 9: pyrolysis oil

RESULTS: Figures 1 to 8 show the design and

development. Figure 9 shows the produced pyrolysis
oil and the combustible properties of the oil.

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Volume 8, Issue 12, December 2019, ISSN: 2278 -7798

Figure 10: reactor showing simulation results

A simulation is an approximate imitation of the approximation of the process of waste pyrolysis

operation of a process or system. Sokolowski reactor and how the oil is produced from the
and Banks,(2009). Therefore figure 10 shows an reactor.

Figure 11: Max. Von mises stress analysis on the pyrolysis reactor

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The material is said to start yielding when the von
Mises stress reaches a value known as yield strength,
The von Mises stress is used to predict yielding of
materials under complex loading from the results of
uniaxial tensile tests. The von Mises stress satisfies
the property where two stress states with equal
distortion energy have an equal von Mises stress.
Because the von Mises yield criterion is independent
4.0 CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
Plastic bears a major threat to the current scenario
and the environment. Millions of tonnes of plastics
are produced on the daily basis and only few
percentage of the waste plastic are being successfully
recycled. Since, plastic takes long years to
decompose, some alternative to plastic should be
developed.
Also, the world is facing the problem of shortage of
petroleum. Therefore, conversion of waste plastic
into fuel can provide a better solution to the disposal
problem of waste plastic as well as act as an
alternative to fossil fuel. From the experiments and
trials, we also found that by using pyrolysis method
we were able to get recover oil from plastic. However,
the output varies depending on the type of plastic
used. Also, the plastic fuel showed properties similar
to that of diesel fuel. Hence, we can conclude that
pyrolysis of plastic into fuel can solve both the
problem of plastic waste management as well as
shortage of fossil fuel if plant is set up at the
commercial level.
The project shows some light on the possibility of
manufacturing liquid fuels which could be used as
feed stock refinery for further modification or
commercial use. By using this technology, we could
solve the waste plastic problem and also significantly
reduce the landfills-which are the cause of infertility
of Agriculture land. Waste plastics can also become a
very good source of energy and an alternative to
fossil fuel which have caused an environment
imbalance.
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Volume 8, Issue 12, December 2019, ISSN: 2278 -7798
of the first stress invariant, , it is applicable for
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