Jet fuel range hydrocarbon production by co-pyrolysis of low density polyethylene and wheat straw over an activated carbon catalyst

Abstract

High-efficiency and low-cost catalysts matter a great deal to convert solid wastes into high-value chemicals and biofuels. In this study, catalytic co-pyrolysis of wheat straw and low-density polyethylene is studied to expound the effect of a biomass-derived activated carbon catalyst on the distribution and proportion of jet fuel range hydrocarbons. The effects of the pyrolysis temperature, catalyst to feedstock ratio and LDPE to wheat straw ratio on the pyrolysis product yields and distributions are investigated. The result indicates that LDPE as a hydrogen additive with wheat straw showed a remarkable synergistic effect on increasing the proportion of aromatic products. The activated carbon catalyst with P-containing functional groups has an excellent performance in the co-pyrolysis of wheat straw and LDPE to generate aromatics through the aromatization of alkanes and olefines, the dehydroxylation and oligomerization of alkylated phenols, and the deoxygenation and aromatization of carbonyls. 95.4 area% jet fuel range hydrocarbons are acquired at a temperature of 550 °C, catalyst to feedstock ratio of 2 : 1 and LDPE to wheat straw ratio of 1 : 1. The present study provides an economical, simple and effective way to obtain high purity jet fuel range hydrocarbons from agricultural wastes and plastics.