“Towards global technological excellence”

A
SEMINAR REPORT
ON
“Production of liquid fuel from plastic wastes using integrated pyrolysis method with
refinery distillation bubble cap plate column”
Submitted By:
ARJUN B. MOHOD

(STUDENT ID: - 19052005)

For the partial fulfilment of Degree of

Master of Technology in

Thermal Power Engineering

GOVERNMENT COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, AMRAVATI

(An Autonomous Institute Of Govt. Of Maharashtra)

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

2019-2020

Government College of Engineering, Amravati 1

 GOVERNMENT COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, AMRAVATI

(An Autonomous Institute Of Govt. Of Maharashtra)

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the seminar report entitled “Production of liquid fuel from plastic
wastes using integrated pyrolysis method with refinery distillation bubble cap plate
column”, is being submitted and completed successfully by,

ARJUN B. MOHOD
(STUDENT ID:-19052005)

Dr. A. M. MAHALLE Dr. A.M. MAHALLE

(Guide) (Head of Department)

Mechanical Engineering

Government College of Engineering, Amravati 2

 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that seminar report entitled “Production of liquid fuel from
plastic wastes using integrated pyrolysis method with refinery distillation bubble cap
plate column”,completed and written by me under the guidance of Dr. A. M. Mahalle,
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Government College of Engineering, Amravati. This
has not been previously performed for the award of any degree or diploma or any educational
certification.

ARJUN B. MOHOD
(STUDENT ID: - 19052005)

Place: Amravati
Date: / /

Government College of Engineering, Amravati 3

 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I am grateful to my respected guide Dr. A. M. Mahalle, for his kind, disciplined and
invaluable guidance which inspired me to solve all the difficulties that came across during
completion of the project.

I express my special thanks to Dr. A. M. Mahalle, Head of the Department, for his
kind support, valuable suggestions and allowing me to use all facilities that are available in
the Department during this project.

My sincere thanks are due to Dr. R. P. Borkar, Principal for extending the all
possible help and allowing me to use all resources that are available in the Institute.

I would like to thanks all the faculty members of Mechanical Engineering Department
for their support, for the successful completion of this project work. The acknowledgement
shall remain incomplete without expressing my warm gratitude to the almighty God.

I would also like to thank Family members and Friends for their continue support and
standing with me in all difficult conditions during this work.

ABSTRACT

Government College of Engineering, Amravati 4

The objective of this paper is to optimise the liquid product of pyrolysis from as much as
500g of polypropylene (PP) plastic waste, using a fixed bed type reactor in a vacuum
condition (−3mm H2O), to minimise the oxygen entering the reactor. The vapour flows
through the 4tray distillation bubble cap plate column for fractionation by utilising heat from
the reactor. Process conditions at 500–650 °C and of 580 °C optimum liquid oil yield is 88
wt.%, comprising of kerosene in tray I with a volume of 350 ml, gasoline in tray II and III
with a volume of 228 ml, and tray IV had no condensate. Gas yield is 5 wt.% and the rest is
char. At the conditions between 500 °C and 560 °C, gasoline yield in 6–67 wt.% comprises of
kerosene and gasoline. However, at process conditions between 600 °C and 650 °C yields of
64–83 wt.% comprising of diesel oil was obtained at tray I and II, while kerosene and
gasoline were obtained in the next tray. The characteristics of fuel obtained from plastic such
as density, viscosity, octane–cetane number, ash content and calorific value have similar
properties with those of fossil fuels.

Table of content

Government College of Engineering, Amravati 5

 Sr. No. Topic Page No. Sign

1 Introduction

2 Literature Review

3 Materials and Methods

4 Result and discussion

5 Conclusion

6 References

Sr.No. Name of table Page no.

Government College of Engineering, Amravati 6

 4.1 The product of distillation bubble cap column of each tray

Fuel products from plastic wastes integrated pyrolysis method

4.2 with distillation bubble plate column

Specific gravity and API gravity of crude oil and selected

4.3
products

The fuel kinematic viscosity (40) of distillation bubble cap

4.4
column product and standard parameter

The ash content of distillation bubble cap column product and

4.6
standard parameter ASTM standards 2008

Fuel calorific value of distillation bubble cap column product

4.6
and standard parameter of gasoline, diesel and kerosene
Effects of pyrolysis temperature on octane and cetane number of
4.7 each tray and standard parameter of gasoline, diesel and
kerosene

Sr. No. Name of figure Page no.

Thermal cracking pyrolysis integrated with distillation

4.1
bubble cap column

The fuel density of product through the distillation bubble cap

4.2
column

The pyrolysis products (yield %wt) as a response of process

4.2 temperature

1. INTRODUCTION

Nowadays plastic materials have become an indispensable part of social life and the fact that
they generate excessive amounts of waste causes large economic losses. For purposes of
recovering these plastic materials various pyrolysis techniques (thermal, catalytic, inert
atmosphere, oxygen environment, under high pressure pyrolysis, etc.) have been developed.

Government College of Engineering, Amravati 7

Due to its unique structure and properties (cheap, high resistance against impact, easy
processing, etc.), polyethylene is used more commonly in comparison to other plastic types
such as PS, PET, PVC and consequently more waste is formed. Furthermore, it has been
indicated that the pyrolysis mechanism could be brought to light as such and asserted that
kinetic parameters could be determined with the help of this mechanism. Due to the fact that
plastic material could stay a very long time without degradation in the environment, great
effort has been expanded for the production of biodegradable polymer materials especially in
recent years. In a study involving the thermal and BaCO3catalytic pyrolysis of HDPE
material, it has been reported that the liquid products obtained at 450˚C temperature and 0.1
catalyst/plastic ratio display the properties similar to gasoline, kerosene and fuel oil In the
subject matter study, catalytic and thermal degradation of HDPE and PP were studied and the
effects of some factors such as catalysts and temperature on degradation products were
analyzed. In pyrolysis studies, the yield of the liquid product obtained was determined and
the characterization of this liquid product was elucidated by GC/MS analysis

Pyrolysis is a decomposition process of long-chain hydrocarbon (polymer) molecules into

smaller sizes (monomer) with the use of high heat (450–800 °C) [8] in a shorter duration and
a condition with the absence of oxygen, generating products in form of carbon, as residues
and volatile hydrocarbons which can be condensate as fuel and non-condensible as gaseous
fuel. The reaction of this polymer is a weak bond chain and is damaged by increasing
temperature, followed by the formation of the free radical propagation stage. These free
radicals will then separate again to form smaller ones which produce more stable compounds.
These smaller free radicals produce stable compounds in the form of paraffin compounds,
isoparaffins,, naphthenes and aromatics with the general reaction mechanism for plastics
thermal degradation [1]. Pyrolysis of waste plastics PP has been investigated by many
researchers who discovered liquid pyrolysis products to be similar to crude oil [9]. The liquid
fuel obtained from the pyrolysis process cannot be directly used as fuel, due to the presence
of impurities (ash) and wax from the feedstock hence, the pyrolysis product is used in
reducing the ash and wax content in fuel products. The purification of the pyrolysis products
was conducted using distillation bubble cap tray column which reduces the ash and wax
content in fuel products. Moreover, used for separate the pyrolysis product has based on
different boiling points. This review therefore focuses on the effect of temperature on the
pyrolysis results which have been integrated with the bubble cap distillation column. This is
carried out by utilising the heat from the reactor to separate the liquid product in a vacuum

Government College of Engineering, Amravati 8

condition which minimises the oxygen entering the reactor. However, in vacuum conditions,
organic vapour leaves the reactor faster, thereby reducing vapour residence time and shifting
evaporation to lower temperature areas, thus reducing the average vapour temperature. This
establishes a more favourable mass transfer condition, and obtains the highest liquid yield.
The obtained liquid product is analysed of physical characteristics to determine the specific
type of product and compare fuel oil with the fossil. In the last five years however, a limited
number of plastic pyrolysis processes have been developed to overcome these limitations.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

1.Lee, K.-H., 2006, Describes the thermal and catalytic degradation of waste high-density
polyethylene (HDPE) in order to recover the fuel oil from waste plastics. Among waste
plastics, the polyolefinic type that is a material of high potential for alternative oil production

Government College of Engineering, Amravati 9

is more than 70% of the total plastic content in municipal solid waste (MSW). Waste HDPE
in polyolefinic plastic is a difficult material in the pyrolysis process by treatment at high
temperature, because of its high degradation temperature and high viscosity products such as
low-quality wax.

2.Wong, S.L., Ngadi, N., Abdullah, T.A.T., Inuwa, I.M., 2017, A study has been
conducted to investigate the effects of temperature and LHSV on catalytic cracking of LDPE
dissolved in benzene. Increase in temperature was found to increase the extent of LDPE
conversion, thus increasing the C5 and C6 aliphatic compounds, and decreased the amount of
unidentified products, which are mostly large hydrocarbons oligomers.

3.Scheirs, J. (Ed.),investigated the plastic pyrolysis involves the thermal degradation of the
wastes in the absence of oxygen/air. It provides for the disposal of plastic wastes with
recovery of valuable gasoline and diesel-range hydrocarbons. During pyrolysis, the polymeric
materials are heated to high temperatures, such that their macromolecular structures are
broken down into smaller molecules, resulting in a wide range of hydrocarbons being formed.
These pyrolytic products can be divided into a non-condensible gas fraction, a liquid fraction
(consisting of paraffins, olefins, naphthenes and aromatics), and solid residues (i.e. char).

4. Lopez, G., Artetxe, M., Amutio, M., Bilbao, J., Mabood, F., Jan, M.R., Shah, J.,
Jabeen, F., Hussain, Z., 2010, A review on the routes for the valorization of wastes
polyolefinic plastic to produce fuel and chemicals also review on degree of development of
pyrolysis technologies in order to ease their definitive implementation.

5.Kalghatgi, G.T., 2001, Experimental investigation on measuring knock intensity in single

cylinder engine and concluded that, the antiknock quality of fuel in given engine operation
condition is given by its octane index OI=RON-KS, higher the octane number index better
the antiknock quality.

6. Silvarrey, L.S. Diaz, Phan, A.N., 2016,Investigatedfive types of MPW (HDPE, LDPE,
PP, PET and PS) were used during this study. They were collected from O'Brien Recycling
Centre in Wallsend (Newcastle upon Tyne, UK). HDPE, LDPE, PP and PET were cut into
circular samples of 1 mm size while PS was cut into circular sample of 4 mm size. Individual
components in MPW were then characterised for its properties. HDPE, LDPE and PP
consisted mainly of carbon and hydrogen with very low ash content, except to HDPE. Their

Government College of Engineering, Amravati 10

high heating value was found around 44e46 MJ/kg, which is comparable with that of diesel
oil. PET had the lowest high heating value, which was 22.96 MJ/kg. This is because it
contains around 30% oxygen content and high ash content (around 8 wt%). High ash content
in HDPE could be caused by alterations in the structure of plastic due to additives. The
volatile matters for all MPW samples were high, in a range of 80e90% while moisture
content was negligible for all of them.

7.Barbarias, I., Artetxe, M., Arregi, A., Alvarez, J., Lopez, G., Amutio, M., Olazar, M.,
2015, Investigated the effect of temperature in the catalytic cracking 0f high density
polyethylene over a spent FCC catalyst on the product distribution ha been studied using two
step reaction system. Thermal pyrolysis of HDPE has been carried out in a conical spouted
bed reactor and the volatiles formed have been fed in-line into a catalytic fixed bed reactor
under the temperature range 450 c- 550 c at this temperature gasoline and light olefins are the
main product fractions obtained.

8.Arena, U., Mastellone, M.L., 2006. In: Scheirs, J. (Ed.), studied the Gas–solid
fluidization operation by which a bed of solid particles is led into a fluid-like state through
suspension in a gas. Compared with other methods of gas–solid contacting (such as fixed
beds, rotary cylinders, flat hearths, etc.), fluidized beds have some rather unusual and useful
properties that can lead to desirable characteristics for waste thermal treatments in general,
and for plastic waste pyrolysis in particular.

3. MATERIALS AND METHODS

3.1. Materials

Samples were sorted according to resin codes developed by the Society of Plastic Industries.
The raw materials utilised in this study were derived from Polypropylene (PP) type plastic

Government College of Engineering, Amravati 11

Density (ρ) = 1.30–1.58 g/cc; Crystalline melting temperature (TM) = 168–175 °C such as
plastic bottle waste gathered from scavengers around Keputih Sukolilo Surabaya, Indonesia.
Dirt was washed off the plastic waste, after which it was then cut into small pieces, with sizes
of 1×3 cm with the use of enumerator machines, to significantly reduce the volume of the
sample chamber in the reactor.

3.2. Apparatus and experimental procedures

This study employed a fixed bed type reactor, made of stainless steel (2). The reactor heating
process reaches a maximum temperature of 750 °C (3), in a space that has been isolated to
reduce the heat emanating from the system (1). This reactor can work either as a thermal or
catalytic pyrolysis process. The temperature is measured and regulated in an electric heating
source, using the Integral Proposal (PI) method with Off-Set 2 °C as a process variable
controller. The heating rate is 15.46 K/min, including the slow pyrolysis category.
Temperatures varied at 500, 520, 540, 560, 580, 600, 620 and 650 °C under vacuum (Pinput=
−7 mm H2O; Pout = −10 mm H2O) to remove the air (oxygen) in the reactor. The
experiments were conducted with a prepared 500 g of plastic waste. The sample was then
heated and melted in the reactor, producing organic vapour. The vapour flows through
distillation of bubble cap column as a result of the heat from the reactor and vacuum pressure.
Ash residue and wax carried by the vapour will go down to the reactor due to the condensate
or resistance beneath the column plate. Whereas, un-condensed vapour flows through the
riser (reverse current below the cap), moves down through the annular space (between the
riser and the cap), and eventually forms a liquid bubble (vapour mixture with condensate)
through a series of available slots along the edge of the lid at the bottom. Condensed vapour
is stored on a column plate which then flows into tray I (4) as an oil product. Vapours that are
un-condensate in tray I, are inhibited under the column plate II through column I. Vapour
having a higher boiling point will be condensed through column I, then collected in tray I.
Whereas, the un-condensate vapour flows through the riser, moving down through space
annular, and forms bubbles through a series of slots. The condensate then flows on the
column plate II and is then stored in tray II. The same process is repeated for tray III.
However, the vapour that does not condense in tray III is a volatile compound (low boiling
point), condensed with the aid of a condenser using a water cooler (± 5 °C), leaving the
condensed vapour to be accommodated in tray IV. Unconditioned vapour flows through a
gas-washing bottle filled with H2O2 (10%, v/v) solution to absorb acidic and toxic

Government College of Engineering, Amravati 12

compounds with the use of a vacuum pump, before being disposed of into the environment.
The temperature of each condensate passing through the tray has been measured using a
digital thermocouple. The mass percentage of product composition could then be calculated
for % conversion, % oil, % residue and % gas according to the formula given below.

Conversion of thermal cracking:

Conversion (wt.%) = Mass of polypropylene (PP) − Mass of residue /Mass of polypropylene

(PP) × 100%

Liquid Yield: Oil (wt.% ) = Mass of oil/ Mass of polypropylene (PP) × 100%

Residue (Char) Yield: Residue (wt.% ) = Mass of residue /Mass of polypropylene (PP) ×
100%

Gas Yield: Gas (wt.%) = 100% − (Oil + Residue)

4. RESULT AND DISCUSSION

This study made use of a pyrolysis reactor integrated with bubble cap distillation column to
pyrolyse plastic and separate liquid products, in order to reduce the energy requirement of the
process. The vapour phase reactor will condense in each tray due to contact with the cold
surface. The component with the heaviest oil will condense in tray I, and so on. The

Government College of Engineering, Amravati 13

distillation in the study was carried out without reflux, because each tray served as a cold
surface to condense the vapour, meaning that fractionation can occur in each tray. The
maximum number of trays that can be operated by the bubble cap distillation column process
is four. This is because there is no condensate in the fourth tray at optimum process
conditions (580 °C), even though a condenser unit with cooling water (± 5 °C) has been added
(see Fig.4.1)

Government College of Engineering, Amravati 14

 Fig4.1 Thermal cracking pyrolysis integrated with distillation bubble cap column

Government College of Engineering, Amravati 15

4.1. Polypropylene conversion and liquid yield

The pyrolysis process of plastic waste generates fuel, offering an alternative to gas. But in
general, the composition of pyrolysis liquid product may differ, depending on the
composition of the feedstock and its process parameters . The results of pyrolysis products
(liquid, gas and char) were obtained within the range of 500–650 °C. From the degradation of
polypropylene (PP), plastic waste pyrolysis was calculated using Eqs. (1)–(3), and the results
are illustrated in Fig. 4.2. Also, the product of distillation bubble cap column of each tray (ml
fuel oil /g PP plastic) is presented in Table 1. The quantity of gas and fuel oil yield has its
conversion (wt.%) illustrated in Fig. 2. There was an increase in the conversion of PP plastic
waste from 9% (at 500 °C) to 99.87% (at 650 °C). Theoretically, the yield will increase
alongside an increase in temperature due to the fact that the reaction rate is faster at high
temperatures. Therefore, as temperature increased, more heat was supplied to the polymer in
order to weaken its chain structure, and this resulted in more polymer chains being cracked.
However, to obtain liquid products such as fuel, optimum process conditions are required
(Table 4.1). This research obtained optimum conditions for fuel oil at 580 °C (1156 ml fuel/g
PP) or 578 ml fuel oil in 500 g PP. Under the optimum process conditions, PP polymers
experience melting temperature (TM) at first, and then proceed to decomposition temperature
(Td) conditions for the polymer bonds to form hydrocarbon compounds (monomers). These
compounds then undergo degradation of thermal cracking recombination in order to form
hydrocarbon products such as paraffins, olefins, naphtha and aromatic. Simultaneously, the
combination of free radicals as a result of secondary reactions in stable hydrocarbon
compounds also forms PONA compounds. Process conditions above optimum, polymers
experience cracking recombination and combination degradation to form hydrocarbon
products such as PONA. Increasing temperature results in oligomeric cracking, i.e. in the
primary reaction, there is a termination of imperfect polymer bonds (wax forming), and the
secondary reactions of free radicals form short chain hydrocarbons (gas compounds are
formed). As a result, the gas yield rises and yields fuel oil falls, as illustrated in Fig. 4.2.

Government College of Engineering, Amravati 16

 Total product
Pyrolysis product of distillation (ml fuel/g pp)
temperature
(°C) Tray I Tray II Tray III Tray IV  
500 0.08  -  -  - 0.08
520 0.12  -  -  - 0.12
540 0.544 0.066  -  - 0.611
560 0.348 0.136 0.072  - 0.556
580 0.7 0.376 0.08  - 1.156
600 0.574 0.438 0.058 0.022 1.092
620 0.846 0.074 0.018 0.024 0.962
650 0.150 0.244 0.126 0.308 0.828

Table 4.1 The product of distillation bubble cap column of each tray

Fig 4.2. The pyrolysis products (yield %wt) as a response of process temperature

Moreover, carbon residue rises together with the vapour due to heat and rising
pressure in the reactor (ash content rises). This is however responsible for the obtained low
product quality in trays I to IV within the temperature range 620–650 °C. Condensate (fuel
oil) cannot be used directly due to its high ash and wax content. The product came out

Government College of Engineering, Amravati 17

looking brownish-black and viscous, which is an indication that it needs to be
recycled(Tables 4.2 and 4.3). (See Fig. 4.3.) The vapour flows through the 4-tray distillation
bubble cap plate column by utilising heat from the reactor, and this is due to the heat
emanating from the reactor or vapour pressure which can condensate in the tray III at
optimum conditions (580 °C). Whereas, at temperatures above the optimum conditions
vapour can be condensate in tray IV, but a higher energy is required to obtain high ash and
wax content (tray I and II), which will then require a cost to separate. In addition, various
characteristics of the fuel obtained in accordance with the boiling point of each product are
achieved. However, vapour which is left un-condensate in tray IV is processed using H2O2
10% (v/v) in gas washing bottles to absorb acidic gas and CO2 formed from pyrolysis before
being discharged into the environment.

Fig 4.3. Fuel products from plastic wastes integrated pyrolysis method with distillation
bubble cap column

Government College of Engineering, Amravati 18

4.2. Physical properties and characteristics of oils

Fuel derived from pyrolysis is very similar to crude oil, and therefore cannot be directly used
as fuel or other sources of energy, given that it must meet certain standard specifications to
ensure the performance of the combustion engine. Plastic pyrolysis products are considered
to be sources of hydrocarbons from petroleum in the form of naphtha products. As a result,
the fuel characteristics of these products are modified to standard fuel products. It therefore
needs to be refined, and this research made use of the distillation bubble cap plate column in
doing so. As a result, a wide range of fuels obtained is expected to be used on an engine, in
accordance with the characterisation of the fuel oil. The characterisation or specifications for
standard fuels have been established by ASTM/IP or instrument tools that conform to ASTM
standards [4].

4.2.1. Characterisation of oils by density

Density is one of the parameters indicating the characteristics of the product. A specific
gravity was measured according to ASTM D 1298 standard at 60 °F. Table 4.2 shows fuel
specification results of Distillation Bubble Cap Tray Column based on Specific Gravity, °API
from Handbook of Petroleum Product Analysis [5]. Liquid fuel specification standard based
on specific gravity or °API of Handbook of Petroleum Product Analysis is shown in Table 3.
The obtained results demonstrated that the condensate fuel at different temperatures resulted
in different types of fuel. The condensate fuel in tray I resulted in gasoline at temperatures of
500–560 °C, kerosene at temperatures of 580 °C and 600 °C, and diesel at temperatures of
620 °C and 650 °C. However, the condensate fuel on tray II yielded gasoline at temperatures
of 540–620 °C and kerosene at the temperature of 650 °C. The condensate fuel on tray III
resulted in gasoline at temperatures of 580–650 °C, and the condensate fuel on tray IV
resulted in gasoline at temperatures of 600–650 °C.

Government College of Engineering, Amravati 19

Pyrolysis Tray I Tray II Tray III Tray IV

temperatur
ρ60 S.g.60 °API ρ60 S.g.60 °API ρ60 S.g.60 °API ρ60 S.g.60 °API
e (°C)

500 0.7512 0.7518 56.71 - - - - - - - - -

520 0.7520 0.7528 56.46 - - - - - - - - -

540 0.7512 0.7521 56.64 0.7457 0.7463 58.1 - - - - - -

560 0.7608 0.7614 54.34 0.7248 0.7254 63.56 - - - - - -

580 0.7756 0.7762 50.80 0.7457 0.7464 58.08 0.7121 0.7130 66.96 - - -

600 0.7789 0.7800 49.98 0.7453 0.7454 58.33 0.7163 0.7169 65.87 0.6910 0.6916 73.09

620 0.7853 0.7860 48.52 0.7221 0.7228 64.27 0.7252 0.7258 63.46 0.7184 0.7199 65.10

650 0.8241 0.8249 40.05 0.8082 0.8089 43.43 0.7707 0.7714 51.93 0.7383 0.7390 59.98

Table 4.2The fuel density of product through the distillation bubble cap column

Material S.G 60°F/60°F API gravity, deg.

Crude 0.65 - 1.06 87 - 2

Casinghead liquid 0.62 - 0.70 97 - 70
Gasoline 0.70 - 0.77 70 - 52
Kerosene 0.77 - 0.82 52 - 40

Lubricating Oil 0.88 - 0.98 29 - 13

Residual and cracked residual 0.88 - 1.06 29 - 2

Table 4.3Specific gravity and API gravity of crude oil and selected products

4.2.2. Characterisation of oils by kinematic viscosity

Viscosity is an important property of oil products which affects the handling or storage,
pumping and burning (including the selection of burner types used) of these products. If the

Government College of Engineering, Amravati 20

 kinematic viscosity value is low, it will influence the oil fuel quality, giving it a low heating
value [1]. Kinematic viscosity was measured according to ASTM D 445 standard at 40 °C
[4]. The values of the fuel kinematic viscosity of each tray are presented in Table 4.4. It can
be observed from Table 4.4 that the temperature pyrolysis and height of the column (tray)
significantly affected the products’ kinematic viscosity. The high process temperature
pyrolysis accelerates the breaking of the polymer structural bonds. Moreover, under certain
process conditions, the termination of the polymer bonds is imperfect, and results in the
vapour containing polymers due to the influence of pressure and temperature in the reactor.
According to the presented data, the product has high kinematics viscosity at condensate tray
I and II at temperatures of 620 °C and 650 °C. The results of the kinematic viscosity analysis
shown in Table 4.4 indicate that fuel oil products obtained through the distillation bubble cap
plate column possess similar properties with those of fossil fuels. It is in accordance with the
characteristics of kerosene and gasoline in the process conditions of 500–600 °C, while above
the temperature optimum is obtained by diesel, kerosene, and gasoline in the process
conditions of 620–650°C.

Pyrolysis kinematic viscosity at 40°C(mm²/g) Standard Kinematic viscosity at 40°C

temperatur Gasoline(mm²/g Kerosene(mm²/g

Tray I Tray II Tray III Tray IV Diesel(mm²/g)
e (°C) ) )

500 0.652 - - - 1.3 - 2.4 1.4 - 3.0 1.9 - 5.5

520 1.006 - - - - - -

540 1.121 0.897 - - - - -

560 1.578 0.960 - - - - -

580 2.445 1.080 0.92 - - - -

600 2.850 1.236 1.11 0.450 - - -

620 3.150 1.590 1.26 0.666 - - -

650 4.140 1.860 1.46 1.044 - - -

Table 4.4The fuel kinematics viscosity (40°C) of distillation bubble cap column product and
standard parameter [4]

Government College of Engineering, Amravati 21

4.2.3. Characterisation of oils by ash content and wax

The ash content is the amount of impurities in the form of burning ash. During pyrolysis,
there is a decomposition of plastic polymers which produces vapour and char. The ash
content is carried by vapour, and this can diminish the quality of fuel products as regards the
nature of fuel cleanliness which can have consequences on the performance combustion
engines. Ash content from each tray is shown in Table 4.5. From Table 4.5, it can be
observed that ash acquisition content for tray I, met the standards at 500 °C and 520 °C, tray
II met the standards at 540 °C and 600 °C, tray III met the standards at 580 ◦C and 600 °C,
and tray IV met the requirements at 600–650 °C. This is due to the lack of oxygen entering
the reactor (vacuum process conditions), and as a result, there is no oxidation reaction in the
reactor. The effect of pyrolysis temperature on the ash content of each product shows the
tendency that an increase in pyrolysis temperature will lead to an increase in the ash content
of each tray. This can be attributed to an increase in temperature and pressure which allows
carbon from the pyrolysis process to carry vapour in column distillation (620–650 °C). Fuel
is classified as low-quality when it contains ash and wax. The ash content from plastic
degradation residues appears in form of carbon residue. However, it is very important for the
ash content to not exceed the standard set, because if it does, it could damage the internal
combustion engine piston when used as fuel.

Pyrolysis Ash content(%w/w) Standard ash content. %wt

temperature (°C) Tray I Tray II Tray III Tray IV Light Oil Heavy Oil
500 0.01 - - - 0.015 0.15
520 0.01 - - - - -
540 0.02 0.008 - - - -
560 0.02 0.011 - - - -
580 0.03 0.012 0.005 - -
600 0.32 0.014 0.005 0.011 - -
620 0.39 0.022 0.018 0.002 - -
650 0.39 0.026 0.025 0.022 - -

Table 4.5The ash content of distillation bubble cap column product and standard parameter
ASTM standards 2008 [4]

Government College of Engineering, Amravati 22

4.2.4. Characterisation of oils by calorific value

One of the important properties of fuel is its calorific or heating value, which is defined as the
energy given when the fuel mass unit is burned without sufficient air. The equipment
employed in determining these calorific values was calorimeter 5E-C5500 Series Digital in
accordance with ASTM D-4809. The calorific values of each tray as shown in Table 4.6 were
similar to those reported by Silvarrey and Phan (2016) [6] which were within the range of
44–48 MJ/kg. These values were also similar to heating values of conventional
fuel/petroleum and fuel oil product from plastics pyrolysis reported by many studies which
are within the range of 33.6– 53.4 MJ/kg, depending on the original plastic polymer
composition. The production of liquid fuel from plastic waste using this method is therefore
feasible to be applied.

Pyrolysis Calorific value(MJ/kg) Standard Calorific value(MJ/kg)

temperature Gasoline(MJ/kg Kerosene(MJ/kg
Tray I Tray II Tray III Tray IV Diesel(MJ/kg)
(°C) ) )
500 47.205 - - - 45.6 46.5 43.5-55.7
520 46.289 - - - - - -
540 46.944 46.006 - - - - -
560 46.441 46.503 - - - - -
580 46.851 46.561 46.745 - - - -
600 46.823 47.205 46.312 46.347 - - -
620 45.154 46.334 46.214 46.9 - - -
650 44.945 46.319 46.316 47.231 - - -

Table 4.6Fuel calorific value of distillation bubble cap column product and standard
parameter of gasoline, diesel and kerosene [7].

4.2.5. Characterisation of oils by octane and cetane numbers

The octane number is a measure of a fuel’s ability to resist ‘knock.’ The octane requirement
of an engine varies with compression ratio, geometrical and mechanical considerations, and
operating conditions. The higher the octane number, the greater the fuel’s resistance to
knocking or pinging during combustion. The anti-knock or octane quality as indicated by the

Government College of Engineering, Amravati 23

Research and Motor Octane numbers (RON and MON), is an essential property of fuel.
Generally speaking, the anti-knock quality of a fuel in a given engine operating condition is
defined by its octane index OI = RON −KS where K is a constant for that condition, and S is
the sensitivity (RON − MON). The higher the octane index, the better the antiknock quality
of the fuel. K is often assumed to be 0.5 so that OI=(RON + MON)/2 [7]. Cetane number
(CN) on the other hand, is an empirical parameter associated with the ignition delay time of
diesel fuels. Octane and cetane numbers were measured using portable octane metre, Kohler
K88600 instrument. Test results were equivalent to ASTM D2699 and D2700 for octane
number of gasoline, and equivalent to ASTM D613 for cetane number of diesel fuel. Octane
and cetane numbers from each tray and standards parameter are shown in Table 4.7.

Table 4.7 indicates that the octane number is significantly influenced by the
temperature and tray position. The higher the pyrolysis temperature, the lower the octane
number for each tray and the compounds become non-volatile (the lower the boiling point).
This is due to the formation of branched, aromatic and polyaromatic compounds (aromatic
groups, naphtha and isoalkanes), whereas at high temperatures, non-volatile compounds such
as long-chain olefins and n-paraffins are formed, and this increases the cetane number value.
High octane numbers are better for internal engine combustions, but aromatic groups cannot
be tolerated by the environment due to the fact that it is difficult to degrade. As a result, the
aromatic content (40%, v/v) which is the maximum limit in fuel oil.

Pyrolysis temperature (°C) Standard octane/cetane number

650 Gasoline
540 560 580 600 600 Diesel ASTM
ASTM
Tray I Tray I Tray I Tray I Tray II Tray IV D613
D2699
Gasoline
RON 97.1 97.2 89.1 88.7 92.2 93.8 90.2-107.1
MON 83.7 83.5 81.8 81.5 84.0 85.0 82.6-103.1
(R+M)/
90.4 90.3 85.4 85.1 88.1 89.4 87.3-105.1
2
Diesel
CN 1.70 0.00 45.50 45.50 48.00 48.70 Min. 30

Table 4.7Effects of pyrolysis temperature on octane and cetane number of each tray and
standard parameter of gasoline, diesel and kerosene

Government College of Engineering, Amravati 24

5. CONCLUSION

A study has been conducted to investigate the effects of temperature and optimise liquid
products through refinery distillation bubble cap plate column. There are differences in liquid
fuel characterisation yielded on each tray depending on the pyrolysis temperature. The type
of fuel is based on an analysis of the characterisation of any condensate. Fuel condensate on
tray I at temperatures of 500–560 °C, 580–600 °C, and 620–650 °C yielded liquid fuels with
specifications of gasoline, kerosene, and a mixture of diesel and polymer PP (wax),
respectively. Fuel condensate on tray II at temperatures of 540–620 oC and 650 °C yielded
liquid fuels with specifications of gasoline and kerosene, respectively. Fuel condensate on
tray III at temperatures of 580–650 °C yielded gasoline, and fuel condensate on tray IV at
temperatures of 600– 650 °C yielded gasoline. The characteristics of fuel obtained from
plastic such as density, viscosity, octane–cetane number, ash content and calorific value have
similar properties with those of fossil fuels. Based on the characteristic analysis, fuel oil from
plastic waste through Integrated Pyrolysis Method with Refinery Distillation Bubble Cap
Plate Column can be used directly for engine or transportation fuel for gasoline type and
kerosene, while the diesel fuel is recycled again to meet specifications of fuel oil.

Government College of Engineering, Amravati 25

6. REFERENCES

[1] Lee, K.-H., 2006. Thermal and catalytic degradation of waste HDPE. In: Wiley, John
(Ed.), Feeds Stock Recycling and Pyrolys S of Waste Plastics. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd,
Canada, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/0470021543.ch5.

[2] Scheirs, J. (Ed.), Feedstock Recycling and Pyrolysis of Waste Plastics: Converting Waste
Plastics into Diesel and Other Fuels. Canada https://doi.org/10.1002/0470021543.ch15

[3] Lopez, G., Artetxe, M., Amutio, M., Bilbao, J., Mabood, F., Jan, M.R., Shah, J., Jabeen,
F., Hussain, Z., 2010. Catalytic conversion of waste low density polyethylene into fuel oil. J.
Iran. Chem. Res. 3, 121–131. MaXiaolong, Ridner, D., Zhang, Z., Li, X., Li, H., Sui, H., Gao,
X., 2017. Study on vacuum pyrolysis of oil sands by comparison with retorting and nitrogen
sweeping pyrolysis. Fuel Process. Technol. 163, 51–59. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fuproc.
2017.04.011

[4] ASTM Standards, 2008. D396-17 - Standard Specification for Diesel Fuel Oils. ASTM
International, United States, http://dx.doi.org/10.1520/D0396-17.

[5] Speight, J.G., 2002. Handbook of petroleum product analysis. In: Wiley-Interscience.
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey, Published simultaneously in Canada.
Tadmor, Zehev, 2006. Principle of polymer procesing. In: Wliey. An SPE Technical, vol. A,
second ed. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., United States of America

[6] Silvarrey, L.S. Diaz, Phan, A.N., 2016. Kinetic study of municipal plastic waste. nt. J.
Hydrog. Energy 41 (37), 16352–16364. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene. 2016.05.202.

[7] Kalghatgi, G.T., 2001. Fuel Anti-Knock Quality - Part I. Engine Studies. http://dx.doi.
org/10.4271/2001-01-3584.

[8]. Arena, U., Mastellone, M.L., 2006. In: Scheirs, J. (Ed.), Fluidized Bed Pyrolysis of
Plastic Wastes. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, Canada, ISBN: 0-470-02152-7, http:
//dx.doi.org/10.1002/0470021543.ch16.

Government College of Engineering, Amravati 26

[9]Wong, S.L., Ngadi, N., Abdullah, T.A.T., Inuwa, I.M., 2017. Conversion of low density
polyethylene (LDPE) over ZSM-5 zeolite to liquid fuel. In: Fuel, vol. 192. pp. 71– 82.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2016.12.008.

[10] Sharma, B.K., Moser, B.R., Vermillion, K.E., Doll, K.M., Rajagopalan, N., 2014. Production,
characterization and fuel properties of alternative diesel fuel from pyrolysis of waste plastic grocery
bags. Fuel Process. Technol. 122. http://dx. doi.org/10.1016/j.fuproc.2014.01.019.

[11] Barbarias, I., Artetxe, M., Arregi, A., Alvarez, J., Lopez, G., Amutio, M., Olazar, M., 2015.
Catalytic cracking of HDPE pyrolysis volatiles over a spent FCC catalyst. Chem. Eng. Trans. 43,
2029–2034. http://dx.doi.org/10.3303/CET1543339.

Government College of Engineering, Amravati 27