Catalytic pyrolysis of multi-material packaging waste

master's thesis

• Title (croatian): Katalitička piroliza ambalažnog otpada od više materijala
• Author: Tomislav Peašinović
• Mentor: Zvonimir Katančić (mentor)
• Committee member: Zvonimir Katančić (predsjednik povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Zlata Hrnjak-Murgić (član povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Vanja Kosar (član povjerenstva)
• Granter: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology; Zagreb
• Granter: University of Split; Faculty of Chemistry and Technology; Split
• Defense date and country: 2021-09-23, Croatia
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: TECHNICAL SCIENCES; Chemical Engineering

Abstract

One of the most serious environmental problems is plastic pollution. The production of single use plastic products goes beyond the world's handling capabilities. Most plastics do not degrade, instead, they slowly decompose into smaller particles, called as microplastics and nanoplastics. The lifespan of plastics should be prolonged by reusing and recycling as many times as possible. Since plastics are generally high calorific value products, incineration of plastic polymers is way to treat waste while both exploiting the energy of the waste material and reducing the amount of solid material to be landfilled. In this study, samples of the tested polymers were obtained from Rotoplast d.o.o. in Sveta Nedelja. The following polymeric materials were selected for analysis: amorphous polyethylene terephthalate/polyethylene (APET/PE), polyethylene terephthalate/biaxially oriented polypropylene (PET/boPP), polyethylene terephthalate-low-density polyethylene metallized (PET/PE-LD met), polyethylene terephthalate/polyethylene laminated (PET/PE lam). Two commercially available catalysts were used in this analysis, nickel(II) chloride (NiCl2) and iron(III) oxide (Fe2O3). Thermal degradation of the tested samples was performed by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) on the TA Instrument Q500. Measurement was performed in an internal atmosphere of nitrogen (N2) at a flow rate of 60 ml/min, in the temperature range from 40 to 600 °C, at different heating rates: 5, 10, 15 and 20° C/min. Thermogravimetric (TG) and differential thermogravimetric (DTG) curves were determined by measurement. The assessment of the occurrence and presence of parallel, consecutive and reversible reactions in the thermal degradation process was monitored. The kinetics of thermal degradation and the activation energies (Ea) of thermal degradation of the investigated samples were determined by the isoconversional Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose (KAS) and Friedman methods. From the obtained results it can be concluded the Fe2O3 catalyst is not suitable for mixtures of such components because the parallel reactions slowed down the thermal degradation. Meanwhile, the NiCl2 catalyst is more suitable than Fe2O3 because it reduces the activation energy, which means a lower temperature and less energy is required.

Abstract (croatian)

Jedan od najozbiljnijih ekoloških problema je onečišćenje plastikom. Proizvodnja plastičnih proizvoda za jednokratnu upotrebu nadilazi svjetske mogućnosti rukovanja. Većina plastike se ne razgrađuje, već se polako razgrađuje na manje čestice, koje se nazivaju mikroplastika i nanoplastika. Životni vijek plastike treba produžiti što je moguće više ponovnom uporabom i recikliranjem. Budući je plastika općenito proizvod visoke kalorijske vrijednosti, spaljivanje plastičnih polimera način je obrade otpada uz iskorištavanje energije otpadnog materijala i smanjenje količine krutog materijala koji se odlaže na odlagalište. U ovom radu uzorci ispitivanih polimera dobiveni su od tvrtke Rotoplast d.o.o. iz Svete Nedelje. Za analizu su odabrani sljedeći polimerni materijali: amorfni polietilentereftalat/polietilen (APET/PE), polietilentereftalat/biaksijalno orijentirani polipropilen (PET/boPP), polietilentereftalat-polietilen niske gustoće metaliziran (PET/PE-LD met), polietilen tereftalat/polietilen laminiran (PET/PE lam). U ovoj analizi korištena su dva komercijalno dostupna katalizatora, nikal(II) klorid (NiCl2) i željezov(III) oksid (Fe2O3). Termička degradacija ispitivanih uzoraka provedena je termogravimetrijskom analizom (TGA) na TA instrumentu Q500. Mjerenje je obavljeno u unutarnjoj atmosferi dušika (N2) pri protoku od 60 ml/min, u temperaturnom području od 40 do 600 °C, pri različitim brzinama zagrijavanja: 5, 10, 15 i 20 °C/min. Mjerenjem su određene termogravimetrijske (TG) i diferencijalne termogravimetrijske (DTG) krivulje. Praćena je procjena pojave i prisutnosti paralelnih, uzastopnih i reverzibilnih reakcija u procesu toplinske razgradnje. Kinetika toplinske razgradnje i energije aktivacije (Ea) toplinske razgradnje ispitivanih uzoraka određene su izokonverzijskim Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose (KAS) i Friedmanovim metodama. Iz dobivenih rezultata može se zaključiti da Fe2O3 katalizator nije prikladan za smjese takvih komponenti jer su paralelne reakcije usporile toplinsku razgradnju. U međuvremenu, NiCl2 katalizator je prikladniji od Fe2O3 jer smanjuje energiju aktivacije, što znači nižu temperaturu i manje energije.

• Keywords: polymer waste; thermogravimetric analysis; kinetics of thermal degradation; multilayered plastic packaging
• Keywords (croatian): polimerni otpad; termogravimetrijska analiza; kinetika toplinske razgradnje; višeslojna plastična ambalaža
• Language: english
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:149:723037
• Project: Number: IP-2018-01-3200; Title: Napredni nositelji energije u oporabi plastičnog otpada; Acronym: NEOPLAST; Leader: Daniel Rolph Schneider; Jurisdiction: Croatia; Funder: HRZZ; Funding stream: IP
• Study programme: Title: Chemical and environmental technology - graduate - university; Study programme type: university; Study level: graduate; Academic / professional title: magistar/magistra inženjer/inženjerka kemijskog inženjerstva (magistar/magistra inženjer/inženjerka kemijskog inženjerstva)
• Type of resource: Text
• File origin: Born digital
• Access conditions: Access restricted to students and staff of home institution
• Created on: 2023-04-21 13:49:47