Recycle plastics into feedstocks

Thermal cracking of mixed-plastics wastes with a fluidized-bed reactor can be a viable and cost-effective means to meet mandatory recycling laws. Strict worldwide environmental statutes require the hydrocarbon processing industry (HPI) to develop and implement product applications and technologies that reuse post-consumer mixed-plastics waste. Recycling or reuse of plastics waste has a broad definition. Recycling entails more than mechanical regranulation and remelting of polymers for film and molding applications. A European consortium of academia and refiners have investigated if it is possible and profitable to thermally crack plastics into feedstocks for refining and petrochemical applications. Development and demonstration of pyrolysis methods show promising possibilities of converting landfill garbage into valuable feedstocks such as ethylene, propylene, BTX, etc. Fluidized-bed reactor technologies offer HPI operators a possible avenue to meet recycling laws, conserve raw materials and yield a profit. The paper describes thermal cracking for feedstocks and pyrolysis of polyolefins.