Introduction:
Currently, in NZ, 190 MT of plastics are being incinerated or sent to landfills each year. The recycling method of pyrolysis involves the thermal degradation of polymers in an inert atmosphere to produce oil and wax products which could be used as potential latent heat storage materials. A problem encountered in the previous research on the applications of these products has been the high degree of unsaturated compounds. These compounds reduce the heat storage density of the waxes and are undesirable.
Project Aim:
The focus of this project is the production of valuable paraffinic products from NZ post-consumer plastic wastes, purposely for use as thermal energy storage materials by utilising the process of pyrolysis and upgrading pyrolysis products through hydrogenation.
Scope:
The scope of this project is to investigate the feasibility of producing valuable paraffinic products from recycled plastics utilising pyrolysis and upgrading the products through hydrogenation to produce paraffinic products which have better suitability in applications as phase change materials. Due to safety concerns, the hydrogenation process will be simulated theoretically only based on similar studies. Gas chromatography (GC) will be used to determine the carbon number distributions and alkene content for different samples. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) will be used to determine the thermal characteristics of the paraffinic products.
Undergraduate
Several objectives are outlined to achieve the investigation shown in the scope.
1. To scan the recent literature about pyrolysis followed by hydrogenation processes and report the “gap” in the literature.
2. To develop a stepwise pyrolysis strategy to produce the bulk of hydrocarbons in the C10-C30 range.
3. To determine the optimum pyrolysis product and, therefore, reaction parameters for hydrogenation feedstock (theoretically only) to produce paraffinic products suitable for use as phase change materials.
4. To determine the technical feasibility of hydrogenation upgrading to produce phase change materials and fuels.
5. To present a clear conclusion on whether the process is successful in obtaining a saturated product or not and decide on ways forward.
None
No lab has been assigned to this project