Catalytic pyrolysis of waste polyethylene into benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX)-enriched oil with dielectric barrier discharge reactor

The increasing demand for plastics has resulted in significant plastic waste accumulation and environmental pollution . Catalytic pyrolysis is an attractive treatment method to mitigate the plastic waste management problems and recover high-value oil products. In our study, waste polyethylene (PE) was pyrolyzed to produce benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX)-enriched oil a using dielectric barrier discharge plasma catalytic pyrolysis reactor. Ga-modified Hydro-Zeolite Socony Mobile-Five (HZSM-5) was used as a pyrolysis catalyst. The effects of the PE to Ga/HZSM-5 ratio and discharge power on BTEX enhancement and carbon deposition are discussed. The greatest BTEX selectivity (77.04%) and relatively low coke yield (1.37%) were achieved when the PE/(Ga/HZSM-5) ratio was 2:1 with a non-thermal plasma (NTP) discharge power of 20 W. The regeneration effects of conventional thermal oxidation and NTP on the zeolite catalyst were compared. NTP regeneration at a low temperature (150 °C) achieved the same coke removal rate as that of thermal regeneration at high temperatures (500 °C). Ga/HZSM-5 subjected to NTP regeneration showed higher activity for BTEX formation (BTEX selectivity was 42.10%) as compared to that shown by Ga/HZSM-5 subjected to thermal regeneration (BTEX selectivity was 40.59%). The NTP synergistic catalytic pyrolysis of plastics over Ga/HZSM-5 was found to be a promising strategy for mitigating the plastic waste management problems and upgrading the quality of oil products.