Journal of Physics: Conference Series

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Re-Design Pyrolysis Reactor Prototype for the Conversion of Plastic

Waste into Liquid Fuel
To cite this article: Arizal Aswan et al 2020 J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. 1500 012061

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FIRST 2019 IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 1500 (2020) 012061 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1500/1/012061

Re-Design Pyrolysis Reactor Prototype for the Conversion of

Plastic Waste into Liquid Fuel

Arizal Aswan*, Irawan Rusnadi, Fatria, Zurohaina, Rima Daniar

Department of Chemical Engineering, Polytechnic of Sriwijaya, Palembang, Indonesia
*Corresponding author email: arizal_aswan@polsri.ac.id

Abstract. In this research, a pyrolysis reactor with a capacity of 5 kg has been designed.
Innovation in the pyrolysis reactor is the adsorbents that are used (lime CaCO3 + iron fiber Fe2O3)
in the reactor. This study aims to determine the optimal reaction conditions. Tests carried out at
200-400 oC temperature intervals and a range of 40-90 minutes. The best product is 86.40%
liquid yield at 350 oC with a processing time of 90 minutes. ASTM distillation studies of the oil
produced showed that 67% fraction was in the range of the light naphtha, 12% fraction was in
the range of heavy naphtha and 21% fraction was in the range of the medium naphtha. Comparing
the physical parameters of the sample oil with standard fuels, it was observed that the fractions
collected were in the range of gasoline, kerosene and diesel oil. This research contributes
significantly to increasing knowledge about the feasibility of pyrolysis, providing opportunities
for the recycling sector to spread take-off systems, in the Circular Economy.

Keywords: Pyrolysis, Adsorbents ( CaCO3, Fe2O3), Plastic Waste

1. Introduction

Plastic becomes an environmental problem when used and disposed of because it stays in the
environment for a longer period of time. Because of its nature which cannot be biodegradable or
degradation is very slow [1]. Disposal of plastic waste in landfills causes environmental and operational
problems [2].
Plastic waste management is carried out using a variety of methods, including reduction, reuse,
combustion, energy recovery, and mechanical recycling. Conventional mechanical recycling methods
such as sorting, grinding, washing and extruding can only recycle 15-20% of all plastic waste [3].
Uncontrolled or open burning or burning or accumulation of plastic waste causes air, water and soil
pollution [4-5].
Pyrolysis, as one of the WTE technologies, is used to convert plastic waste into energy (liquid oil)
and value-added products (charcoal and gas) [6]. Pyrolysis is a tertiary recycling technique in which
plastic polymers are broken down into smaller organic molecules (monomers) in the absence of oxygen
at high temperatures (> 400 °C) [6-8]. Most of the Pyrolysis studies conclude that the optimal
temperature range for pyrolysis of plastic waste is between 450 °C and 550 °C (Table 1). Pyrolysis of
all types of plastic waste is possible except for PET and PVC because it can cause corrosion problems
and pipe clogging [9].

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FIRST 2019 IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 1500 (2020) 012061 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1500/1/012061

Table 1. Specifications for prototype development.

Processes Products
Depolymerisation method Pyrolysis Pyrolytic oil (TPO)
Type of reactor Fixed Bed Reactor
Heating Indirect a mixture of used diesel and oil
Operating Temperature 200 oC < T < 500 oC
Maximum Capacity 5 kg
Feedstock size Tyre slab or granulated 200 – 500 mm
Adsorbent filter tyre Powder CaCO3 and iron fiber

Products produced from the polymer chain-breaking method mentioned above generally produce
about 70-80% liquid, 5-10% gas, solid residues, and contaminants, [10]. Liquid products contain naphtha
and other components with boiling points 36-270 OC which are potential to be reprocessed into fractions
that are more economically valuable such as gasoline.
In this research, a pyrolysis reactor has been designed using a mixture of diesel fuel and used oil.
Innovations in the pyrolysis reactor in the form of adsorbent (limestone) + iron fiber Fe2O3) in the
reactor. This study aims to determine the optimal reaction conditions. this research contributes
significantly to increasing knowledge about the feasibility of pyrolysis, providing opportunities for the
recycling sector to spread take-off systems, in the Circular Economy.

2. Materials and method

2.1 Pyrolysis Feedstock
The raw materials consist of beverage bottles, disposable plates, grocery bags, possible juice cups and,
which mainly consist of PS, PE, PP, and PET. All of these types of plastic are the main source of plastic
waste. The raw material collected is crushed into smaller pieces (200 mm) to get a homogeneous mixture
for the reactor. After the raw materials are taken according to instrument requirements and heated to 350
o
C. Used oil and diesel fuel are used as fuel, iron fiber and lime (CaCO 3) as reactor stuffing. Zeolite
Active Plus is used for product purification.

2.2 Design, Construction, and Demonstration of the Pyrolysis Prototype

Based on the findings of laboratory studies, conducted by the authors [11], a prototype conceptual design
is provided, as illustrated in Figure. 1. For the scale of the pyrolysis process, the following technical
requirements are considered:
• Capacity:
The prototype can process up to 5 kg with a product mass flow rate of 1.5 - 5 kg per hour.
• Pyrolysis process conditions :
The test is carried out at 350 oC under oxygen-free atmospheric pressure. Nitrogen (N2) was
originally used to clean the entire system, thus ensuring oxygen-free conditions for pyrolysis.
[12]
• Construction material:
High purity stainless steel was used for the manufacturing of the pilot reactor, able to tolerate
the high temperatures (~1040 oC) for the activation process. Both the feeding system and the
reactor included worm screws.
• Type of rector:
Vertical cylinders are chosen based on the type of laboratory reactor, due to their ability to
transfer heat, ease of handling, controlled operation, affordable costs, and various adjustment
options. [13]
• Mode of operation:

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FIRST 2019 IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 1500 (2020) 012061 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1500/1/012061

• Based on the experimental study of pyrolysis optimization in a laboratory batch reactor, the
following parameters were applied for the operation of the pilot plant pyrolysis: Temperature
400OC, heating rate 20 oC min-1 and particle size 20 mm. [14].
• Control and measuring systems:
The feeding rate was monitored and adjusted by the process control software interface system
of the pilot-scale unit. Thermo-couples were used to measure the temperature of every
subsystem of the unit. In the reactor, the temperature was measured, accurately and indirectly,
by means of thermal expansion of the metallic screw conveyor. Oxygen concentration was
measured by several detectors installed at the feed hopper, condenser inlet, and booster outlet.
Normalized system's operation was monitored and verified from pressure measurements. Any
hardware failures occurred, were identified in the form of pressure drops (mbar).
• Reactor design and development:
The development of the Vertical cylinder pilot-scale reactor (prototype) is based on the protocol
formulated by the results obtained in the laboratory reactor, reported in the author's previous
research [15]. The reactor construction is made of Superalloy metal which is resistant to high
temperatures (1040 oC). in bain there are two zones, namely the pyrolysis zone in the lower bain
and the adsorbent filter zone in the center of the reactor. The filter thickness is 30% of the total
reactor height, containing iron fiber and lime (CaCO 3). The vaporizing burner is positioned on
the window of the combustion chamber that allows the flame to be distributed evenly in the
combustion chamber. The combustion chamber is designed in the form of a rectangular room
with a size of 80x60x60 cm. The inside walls of the combustion chamber are insulated with 2
mm thick asbestos and the middle walls are insulated with glass wool and the outside is made
of stainless steel. The combustion chamber chimney is located at the back of the vertical swan
neck, with a diameter of 15 cm and a height of 50 cm. Water condenser is made of clear acrylic
cylindrical shape with a diameter of 20 cm and a height of 40 cm. In detail, the construction of
the pyrolysis system is shown in Figure 1

Figure 1.Conceptual design of the pilot-scale pyrolysis unit Information:

1. Burner 7. Fuel Tank 13. Fuel Thermocouple
2. Furnace (chamber) 8. Butterfly Heater 14. Reactor Thermocouple
3. Reactor 9. Windowpane furnace 15. Condenser Thermocouple
4. Condenser 10. Pressure Gauge 16. Flange Reactor
5. Chimney 11. Cooling Water Valve 17.Steam Pipe
6. Control Panel Box 12. Distilate oil valve

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FIRST 2019 IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 1500 (2020) 012061 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1500/1/012061

2.3 Experimental Setup

Pyrolysis is carried out by designing a pilot plant scale reactor set. In the interior of the reactor in
the form of a vertical cylinder, there is a CaCO3 adsorbent and an iron filter that is used for capturing
evaporated and soluble wax in pyrolysis liquid oil. The volatile oil resulting from the hydrolysis is
passed through a double separator to separate the heavy and light fractions, then the product is
condensed through a condenser. The raw materials used are various types of plastic waste. The
reactor is a closed system, and all experiments are carried out in an oxygen-free environment. The
reactor has a storage capacity of 20 liters of raw material, and the temperature can be increased to
800 oC at the desired heating rate (Table 2).

Table 2. The parameters of the pyrolysis reactor

Reactor components Dimension
Height of heating tank 360 mm
Diameter of heating tank 310 mm
Height of catalyst tank 200 mm
Height of catalyst tank 165 mm
Reactor capacity for feedstock 20 L
Length of condenser 400 mm
Diameter of condenser 200 mm
Maximum temperature 800 oC

Plastic raw material is converted into organic monomers in the pyrolytic chamber, and then these
monomers are condensed into liquid oil in the condenser. Optimal organic vapor condensation is
achieved when the temperature of the condenser is maintained below 10 oC using a classical cooler
(ACDelco, Australia). Condensed liquid oil is collected and refined using bentonite adsorbents.
Details of all current experiments and their conditions are shown in Table 3

Table 3. Experimental scheme of pyrolysis, each experiment

Feedstock type Feedstock Feedstock ratio Retention time Reaction
quantity (%) (min) temperature (oC)
PE 0,5 25 60 200 - 400
PP 0,5 25 60 200 - 400
PS 0,5 25 60 200 - 400
PET 0,5 25 60 200 - 400 Experimental 2 100 setup

2.4 Analytical methods

Liquid oil produced by pyrolysis from various plastic wastes was characterized using different
instruments, including Bomb Calorimeter following the ASTM D-1298, ASTM D-86, ASTM D-445,
ASTM D-6304, and ASTM D-97 methods

3. Results and discussion 3.1

Effect of Temperature
The effect of temperature on the product distribution of the thermal degradation of plastic waste using a
pyrolysis reactor with iron fiber and CaCO 3 fillings is given in Fig. 1. Operating temperatures in the
range of 200 oC to 350 oC. The degradation reaction is a batch type and each reaction is carried out for
one hour at each temperature. Initial degradation at 200 oC and increases significantly when the
temperature rises from 300 oC. to 350 oC. Gas yield increases with an increase in temperature of up to

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Journal of Physics: Conference Series 1500 (2020) 012061 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1500/1/012061

350 oC. and almost remains constant up to 380 oC. Oil production starts at 300 oC. and increases with
temperatures up to 380 oC. Total conversions (91.47%) at 350 oC. proportional to total conversion
(92.20%) at 380 oC. Thus the distribution of gas, wax, oil, and oil selectivity products is relatively
constant from 325 oC. up to 350 oC. The best product (oil) is 86.40% liquid yield at 350 oC which is
equivalent to 86.70% of the oil yield obtained at 380 oC. Thus an increase in temperature outside 350 oC
has no prominent effect on product distribution; Therefore the temperature of 350 oC is used for the
degradation of plastic waste using this reactor.

100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
200 250 300 350 380 400
T (o C)

Oil Gas Wax Residu

Figure 2. Effect of temperature on conversion of plastic waste

3.2 Effect of reaction time

The pyrolysis reaction is carried out for different time periods to investigate the impact of the reaction
time on the reaction product at the optimum temperature (350 oC). In most previous studies, reaction
time has not been optimized and degradation has been carried out for a fixed reaction time [4]. In this
study, a series of reactions were carried out with reaction times in the range of 40 minutes to 90 minutes
with 10 minutes time difference under optimal reaction conditions (Fig. 3). The oil yield at the reaction
time of 40 minutes was 32.4% which gradually increased to 86.40% at the reaction time of 80 minutes.
Beyond 90 minutes of reaction time, there are no significant changes. Thus it can be generalized that
with an increase in reaction time from 40 minutes to 90 minutes, a gradual increase in the total percent
conversion and oil yields is observed and surpasses one and a half hours the total conversion reaction
time and the oil yield is relatively constant. An increase in gas production and a slight increase in wax
can also be observed initially at up to 1.5 hours of reaction time but relatively constant at higher contact
times. Thus a residence time of 1.5 hours is considered as optimal for the degradation of plastic waste
under given experimental conditions.

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Journal of Physics: Conference Series 1500 (2020) 012061 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1500/1/012061

100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
40 50 60 70 80 90
Time (min)

Oil Gas Wax Residu

Figure 3. Effect of reaction time on conversion of plastic waste

3.3. Physicochemical study of the pyrolysis oil

The pyrolysis oil is studied from the fuel standpoint and several physicochemical tests are carried out
for this purpose. The results of experiments conducted for catalytic oil fractions were compared with
standard values for gasoline, kerosene and diesel oil. Physical parameters e.g. Index, Density, API
Gravity, API Gravity, Viscosity, Kinematic Viscosity, Flash Point, ASTM BP range and calorific values
are determined for catalytic oil and its fractions. It was observed that almost all of the practically
determined fraction values could be compared to gasoline, kerosene or diesel oil. A comparison of the
physical parameters investigated is given in Table 4.

Table 4. Comparison of the physical parameters for pyrolysis oil with standard gasoline, kerosene and
diesel oil.

Physical Properties Oil Fractions at different temperature (C) Standard Values

100 150 200 250 300 Gasoline Kerosene Diesel
1.428 1.439 1.443 1.471
Density (g/ml) 0.78 0.701 0.73 0.779 0.801 0.819 0.720 - 0.736 0.78 - 0.82 0.83 - 0.85
Specific gravity 0.820 0.737 0.768 0.819 0.842 0.861 0.72 - 0.73 0.78 - 0.82 0.83 - 0.85
API gravity 41.02 60.46 52.84 41.24 36.50 32.81 65.03 - 62.34 49.91 - 41.06 38.98 - 34.97
Viscosity (Centipoise) 1.902 0.637 0.841 1.252 2.031 3.437 0.775 - 0.839 1.2 - 1.8 2.0 - 4.5
Kinematic viscosity 2.438 0.909 1.152 1.607 2.536 4.197 1.076 - 1.140 1.54 - 2.20 2.4 -5.3
(mm2/Sec)
Flash point (OC) 50 42 65 97 112 117 37.8 - 38 50 -55 55 - 60
Pour point (OC) 18 < 20 < 20 17 05 22 - - -
Refractive index 1.443 1.408 1.434 1.440 - 0.78 1.484

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FIRST 2019 IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 1500 (2020) 012061 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1500/1/012061

4. Conclusion
The application of CaCO3 as a basic adsorbent conversion of plastic waste shows that adsorbent has the
impact to shorten the reaction time and improves the production of oil yield. The ASTM distillation
curves of the oil products show that comparatively lower boiling point hydrocarbons are produced in
case of the conversion process. The physio-chemical study of all the fractions reveals that the
corresponding fraction has either the properties of gasoline, kerosene or diesel oil. The GC/MS study of
the oil shows that there is a wide range of hydrocarbons out of which the major constituents range from
octane to octacosane showing relatively a uniform distribution of the constituent hydrocarbons. The
hydrocarbons were mainly paraffinic and olefinic while some aromatic hydrocarbons were also detected
but with no significant concentration. The composition of the fractions distilled at different temperatures
shows an increase in the percentage of the heavier hydrocarbons with in-crease in the distillation
temperature.

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