Oil Recovery from Atactic Polypropylene by Fluidized-bed Pyrolysis -Effect of Oxygen Concentration on Yield and Property of Oil-

Abstract

Fluidized-bed pyrolysis of atactic polypropylene(APP), that is an unavoidable by-product in propylene polymerization, was tested for the purpose of oil recovery. APP fed into a sand fluidized bed was decomposed to gaseous and oil products by heat of partial oxidation. Since it is expected that the concentration of oxygen in the entering gas stream would considerably affect the yield and property of oil produced, experiments were carried out with varing gas composition. In case the oxygen concentration of inlet gas is high, the oxygen which remained unconsumed in the bed, allowed both the oxidation and the thermal decomposition of product oils to be conducted in the free board. This resulted in the enhanted production of lower molecular weight oils.