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Fuel from waste : elucidation of fuel characteristics from polyethylene and polystyrene pyrolysis escherichia coli on coconut fiber on biotranformations of starch / Aghilan A/L Ganesan

By:

Aghilan A/L Ganesan [author.]

Material type: Text

text

Media type:

unmediated

Carrier type:

volume

ISBN:

THE0010659 (Local)

Subject(s):

Dissertation note: Final Year Report (Bachelor of Chemical Engineering ) -- Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah - 2024 Abstract: Plastics have become increasingly popular and are now used in a wide range of applications across the global economy. In this context, pyrolysis emerges as an alternative technology to incineration and landfilling, offering a means to convert plastic waste into energy. The main objective of this research is to investigate the effects of the type of plastics, specifically polyethylene (PE) and polystyrene (PS), and the presence of a catalyst in the pyrolysis process on product yield as well as to elucidate the fuel characteristics of the produced liquid oil via pyrolysis. In order to conduct this research, the catalyst was prepared and formulated, consisting of 10 wt% nickel and 90 wt% calcined oil palm ash. The catalyst Ni/OPA exhibited a surface area of 6.4646 m²/g, a pore volume of 0.0078 cm³/g, and an average pore diameter of 48.4645 Å. The samples of plastic waste consisting of polyethylene and polystyrene were collected and cut. After the preparation of samples and catalyst, the pyrolysis experiment was conducted at high temperature of 350℃ for 4 hours. After the experiment, the pyrolysis product was examined by using gas chromatography mass spectrometry, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, and bomb calorimeter. Without a catalyst, it is found that PS achieved a higher yield (67.70%) compared to PE (3.26%). The catalyst significantly enhanced the yield, with PS increasing to 91.04% and PE to 4.72%. Density analysis showed that PS pyrolysis products (0.82 – 0.83 g/mL) are closer to diesel fuel density, while PE products (1.03 – 1.05 g/mL) exhibited higher densities, indicating heavier hydrocarbons. Higher heating value (HHV) results demonstrated that the catalyst increased energy content for both plastics, with PS averaging 40.15 MJ/kg (peaking at 46.97 MJ/kg) and PE at 37.75 MJ/kg, approaching the HHV of conventional fuels like diesel (43 MJ/kg) and gasoline (42.5 MJ/kg). It can be observed that the presence of functional groups such as aromatics, alkenes, and paraffins, with the catalyst favouring the production of lighter hydrocarbons in the gasoline range (C5 – C9) while reducing heavier fractions (> C20), these results suggest that catalytic pyrolysis serves as a viable pathway for converting plastic waste into fuels. In conclusion, polystyrene yields higher liquid fuel compared to polyethylene and the application of catalyst significantly enhances the breakdown of hydrocarbon chains and results in higher-quality liquid fuel.

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Holdings
Item type	Current library	Call number	Status	Date due	Barcode
Restricted Collection	UMPLIB PEKAN	FTKKP .A34 2025 r Bc. (Browse shelf(Opens below))	Not for loan		T000004254

Faculty of Chemical and Process Engineering Technology

Final Year Report (Bachelor of Chemical Engineering ) -- Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah - 2024

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Plastics have become increasingly popular and are now used in a wide range of applications across the global economy. In this context, pyrolysis emerges as an alternative technology to incineration and landfilling, offering a means to convert plastic waste into energy. The main objective of this research is to investigate the effects of the type of plastics, specifically polyethylene (PE) and polystyrene (PS), and the presence of a catalyst in the pyrolysis process on product yield as well as to elucidate the fuel characteristics of the produced liquid oil via pyrolysis. In order to conduct this research, the catalyst was prepared and formulated, consisting of 10 wt% nickel and 90 wt% calcined oil palm ash. The catalyst Ni/OPA exhibited a surface area of 6.4646 m²/g, a pore volume of 0.0078 cm³/g, and an average pore diameter of 48.4645 Å. The samples of plastic waste consisting of polyethylene and polystyrene were collected and cut. After the preparation of samples and catalyst, the pyrolysis experiment was conducted at high temperature of 350℃ for 4 hours. After the experiment, the pyrolysis product was examined by using gas chromatography mass spectrometry, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, and bomb calorimeter. Without a catalyst, it is found that PS achieved a higher yield (67.70%) compared to PE (3.26%). The catalyst significantly enhanced the yield, with PS increasing to 91.04% and PE to 4.72%. Density analysis showed that PS pyrolysis products (0.82 – 0.83 g/mL) are closer to diesel fuel density, while PE products (1.03 – 1.05 g/mL) exhibited higher densities, indicating heavier hydrocarbons. Higher heating value (HHV) results demonstrated that the catalyst increased energy content for both plastics, with PS averaging 40.15 MJ/kg (peaking at 46.97 MJ/kg) and PE at 37.75 MJ/kg, approaching the HHV of conventional fuels like diesel (43 MJ/kg) and gasoline (42.5 MJ/kg). It can be observed that the presence of functional groups such as aromatics, alkenes, and paraffins, with the catalyst favouring the production of lighter hydrocarbons in the gasoline range (C5 – C9) while reducing heavier fractions (> C20), these results suggest that catalytic pyrolysis serves as a viable pathway for converting plastic waste into fuels. In conclusion, polystyrene yields higher liquid fuel compared to polyethylene and the application of catalyst significantly enhances the breakdown of hydrocarbon chains and results in higher-quality liquid fuel.