Obtención de combustible a partir de la pirólisis térmica de poliestireno reciclado.

Abstract

The objective was to determine the effect of the temperature and the optimal reaction time to obtain fuel with properties similar to that of commercial diesel from a thermal pyrolysis process of polystyrene. The PS-type plastic waste was used as a raw material in a small-scale batch pyrolysis reactor. For this, different tests were carried out at the laboratory level in the reactor in order to obtain a fuel with properties similar to commercial fuel. At 425 ° C the gas yield was 18.63% by mass, the coal yield was 2.2824% by mass, while the yield of the liquid fraction was 79.0833% by mass. The increase of the temperature to more than 425 ° C did not produce a significant change in the percentages of the different fractions obtained and the time was not considered as a variable that influences its obtaining. The optimal temperature and reaction time were found at 425 ° C and 10 min despite not being time an influential variable. The liquid fraction obtained under optimum conditions had an API grade of 19.8, a density of 0.9352, a kinematic viscosity of 1.026 cSt, a sulfur content of 112ppm, a flash point of 30 ° C, a water content and sediment of 0.5% v, a 90% distillation temperature of 325 ° C. With this results it is established that the obtaining of fuel from the thermal pyrolysis of polystyrene is feasible, thus obtaining a product as an alternative source to generate energy from waste generated worldwide; However, it is recommended to conduct the study from different materials, controlling other variables to obtain a product of higher quality and higher yield than the one obtained.