Moving towards closed materials cycles and a circular economy. Optimising chemical recycling processes through thermal analysis
Philip Davies 2 and Frieder Dreisbach 1 1 Waters GmbH, Germany, 2 Waters UK, UK
In order to achieve a sustainable industrial society all the raw materials used in a product must be recycled at end of life. This should not just include the more expensive and rare raw materials , for example those used in batteries, but also the more commodity based materials such as mass-used plastics. Thermal analysis is widely used in the characterisation of all materials in all stages of their lifecycle covering areas of research, product development and quality control. There has always been a need to understand decomposition mechanisms of polymer materials as an aid to their lifetime performance. In this presentation, the use of high-pressure thermogravimetry and decomposition product gas analysis will be introduced, with literature case studies, as an analytical method to understand and optimise the pyrolysis and gasification processes of organic materials. These processes break down the end-of-life materials into molecular components which can be fed back into the material production cycles. The ability to make these laboratory studies at elevated temperatures and pressures replicating real process conditions allowing a more direct transfer onto the industrial scale. This aids the optimisation of the required conditions to increase product yield and adaption to produce the desired synthetic gas when faced with variation in the end-of-life feedstock. References 1. The Future of Petrochemicals, International Energy Agency, 2018 2. The PLASTIC ATLAS 2019, Editors: Lili Fuhr, Matthew Franklin, ISBN 978-3-86928-211-4C. Gahn, BASF, „Chemical Recycling“, presentation at Brightland Polymer Days 2021 3. Chemical Recycling 101, BPF,https://www.bpf.co.uk/plastipedia/chemical-recycling-101.aspx Beghetto, V. et al., Recent Advancements in Plastic Packaging Recycling:A Mini-Review, Materials 2021, 14, 4782 4. Dubdub I, Al-Yaari M., Materials. 2020; 13(21):4912Al-Yaari M, Dubdub I., Polymers. 2020; 12(8):1813K. Liu, H.L.C. Meuzelaar, Fuel Processing Technology 49 (1996), 1-15
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