Catalytic degradation of linear low-density polyethylene over HY-zeolite via pre-degradation method

The catalytic degradation of linear low-density (lldPE) polyethylene over HY-zeolite catalyst was studied in a semi-batch reactor. One of the important problems encountered during catalytic pyrolysis of macro-molecules is the contact with the catalyst, which is known to affect the product distribution and the quality of the coke formed. A pre-degradation procedure was introduced to achieve efficient contact between the LLDPE macro-molecules and the catalyst. The influence of the pre-degradation to the reaction conditions including holding time, temperature, polymer to catalyst ratio and flow rate of carrier gas was examined. Moreover, the pre-degradation results were compared with the results obtained using normal mixing procedure. The results obtained showed that, pre-degradation promotes the liquid fraction by a factor of more than one-fold increase at the expense of the gas fraction and the coke yield. The optimal liquid fraction with pre-degradation was obtained at low reaction temperature and catalyst amount respectively, i.e. high polymer to catalyst ratio, making it economically viable method for the degradation of lldPE. The coke content was analysed using TGA in nitrogen atmosphere to remove the soft coke and then in air isothermally at the final temperature to burn the hard coke. The TGA results of the coked sample show less concentration of coke components on the catalyst using the pre-degradation method as compared to the normal mixing which shows high concentration of coke components especially at low reaction temperature. Moreover, the majority of the coke components produced using the pre-degradation method were soft coke, making it more efficient for the re-usability of the catalyst. The liquid samples collected were analysed using gas chromatography and the products distribution were presented in the form of boiling point distribution curves. The bulk of the liquid products produced were lighter fractions with a peak around the gasoline range.