Prevention of chlorinated hydrocarbons formation during pyrolysis of PVC or PVDC mixed plastics

Abstract

Pyrolysis of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) and poly(vinylidene chloride) (PVDC) mixed with poly(ethylene) (PE), poly(propylene) (PP), poly(styrene) (PS) [PE/PP/PS/PVC, and PE/PP/PS/PVDC (3 ∶ 3 ∶ 3 ∶ 1)] were performed with a controlled temperature program (step I: room temperature to 330 °C; kept at 330 °C (for PVC), 300 °C (for PVDC) for 2 h; step II: 300 or 330 °C to final temperature 430 °C) and produced the chlorine free hydrocarbons in the absence of dechlorination catalyst/sorbent, which can be used as a chemical feedstock in a refinery. The temperature programs were selected based on the TGA analysis of individual plastic samples.