Pyrolytic Waste Plastic Oil and Its Diesel Blend: Fuel Characterization

Abstract EN

The authors introduced waste plastic pyrolysis oil (WPPO) as an alternative fuel characterized in detail and compared with conventional diesel.

High density polyethylene, HDPE, was pyrolyzed in a self-designed stainless steel laboratory reactor to produce useful fuel products.

HDPE waste was completely pyrolyzed at 330–490°C for 2-3 hours to obtain solid residue, liquid fuel oil, and flammable gaseous hydrocarbon products.

Comparison of the fuel properties to the petrodiesel fuel standards ASTM D 975 and EN 590 revealed that the synthetic product was within all specifications.

Notably, the fuel properties included a kinematic viscosity (40°C) of 1.98 cSt, density of 0.75 gm/cc, sulphur content of 0.25 (wt%), and carbon residue of 0.5 (wt%), and high calorific value represented significant enhancements over those of conventional petroleum diesel fuel.