Carbon and H2 recoveries from plastic waste by using a metal-free porous biocarbon catalyst
Yanghao Jin, Hanmin Yang, Shuo Guo, Ziyi Shi, Tong Han, Ritambhara Gond, Pär G. Jönsson, Weihong Yang
Abstract
Carbon and H2 recoveries from plastic waste enable high value-added utilizations of plastic waste while minimizing its GHG emissions. The objective of this study is to explore the use of a metal-free biocarbon catalyst for waste plastic pyrolysis and in-line catalytic cracking to produce H2-rich gases and carbon. The results show that the biocarbon catalyst exhibits a good catalytic effect and stability for various plastic wastes. Increasing the C/P ratio from 0 to 2, induce an increase in the conversion rate of C and H in plastics to carbon and H2 from 57.1% to 68.7%, and from 22.7% to 53.5%, respectively. Furthermore, a carbon yield as high as 580.6 mg/gplastic and an H2 yield as high as 68.6 mg/gplastic can be obtained. The hierarchical porous structure with tortuous channels of biocarbon extends the residence time of pyrolysis volatiles in the high-temperature catalytic region and thereby significantly promotes cracking reactions.