Degradation of Waste Plastics Through Pyrolysis in the Presence of a Catalyst
The catalytic thermal decomposition of plastic materials provides a powerful solution for the alternative fuel and plastic pollution crisis. This research was designed to determine which ratio of catalyst to waste plastic would produce the highest amount of petroleum-based fuel and decrease the activation temperature of the plastic. Different plastics would be loaded into the reactor with or without a catalyst while an argon-filled balloon slowly releases argon through the reactor and out the other side. This process rids the system of oxygen. The reactor is then heated to 500°C, melting the contents. The vapor from the melting plastics would then leave the reactor with the argon flow into a beaker that is laying in a larger beaker filled with cold water. The three different kinds of plastics were used in this experiment: polyethylene, polystyrene, and polypropylene. The catalyst used was magnesium chloride (MgCl2). It was hypothesized that the presence of a catalyst within the reactor would lead to lower activation energy and more yield.
The hypothesis that the catalyst would decrease the activation energy and increase the amount of yield was accepted. The data showed that the activation energy experienced an average reduction of 78°C while the amount of product produced increased by an average of 30%. The reduction has been deemed significant, because to raise the temperature of most materials by 78°C, a large amount of heat energy is required.
Research Conducted By:
Logan Mardlin
Lake Shore High School
Joseph Schmitz
Lake Shore High School
Warren Consolidated Schools