Synthesis of Hydrocarbon Fuel by Thermal Catalytic Cracking of Polypropylene

The current study examined the thermal catalytic cracking reaction of polypropylene-based polymers to generate C8-C18 hydrocarbons using metal oxide catalysts, including MgCO3, CaCO3, Al2O3, and MgO. A systematic analysis of the liquid productswas performed to determine the optimum catalyst that produces a highest yield of C10-C12 hydrocarbon which falls under the gasoline range organics (GRO). Our data demonstrated that MgO produced the highest yield of liquid products compared to the other catalysts. The kinetic study suggeststhe potential mechanism of time and ratio (polymer vs. catalyst)-dependent polypropylene cracking. The hydrocarbon products were analyzed usingGC-MS and FT-IR to show that polypropylene cracking generates carbon constituents ranging from C8 to C18 which is a range for naptha, petrol, kerosene, and diesel. The FT-IR spectra demonstrated that hydrocarbon products contain mostly alkene and alkane functional groups. A massof polypropylene waste plastic were converted into potential kerosene fuel using 10%metal oxide catalysts producing 85% liquid, 3% light gas and 12% residues with 25 minutesof reaction timeand a first order reaction kinetics.The calorimetric analysis showed that the liquid has a heating value within a range of 9.8– 10.8Kcal/g.