Homogenization of Heavy Tar and Plastics by Thermal Co-treatment to Prepare Liquid Fuel Feedstock

Abstract

Herein we focused on homogenization of heavy tar and three types of plastics (polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PS ) by thermal co-treatment to prepare feedstock for liquid fuel production. The heterogeneous mixture was treated with different solvents at 300 °C for reaction times ranging from 0 to 3 h under N2 atmosphere to produce liquefied feedstock. Pretreatment results for the different PS ratios indicated the carbon recovery values for the liquefied products. Further, the synergetic effects of the heavy tar and PS mixture significantly increased the concentrations of components such as ethylbenzene and (1-methylethyl)benzene. Moreover, thermal treatment of the heavy tar and plastic mixture with acetone resulted in ketone fractionation to form 4-methyl-4-penten-2-one and 4-methyl-3-penten-2-one. Additionally, the results indicated that the thermal co-treatment of heavy tar and other plastics (PE and PP) with various solvents generated less quantities of the liquefied product. Finally, the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis indicated that reaction times did not significant affect the product distributions of the liquefied product.