Catalytic activity of acid-treated biomass for the degradation of expanded polystyrene waste

Pyrolysis processes were investigated using expanded polystyrene waste (EPW) with a catalyst synthesized from rice husk (RH). Biomass was treated with different acids, i.e., sulfuric acid, oxalic acid, and hydrochloric acid. The effect of normality on the oxalic acid-treated catalyst and the effects of polymer to catalyst ratio on (i) oil, gas, and residues yields; (ii) temperature; and (iii) time for the complete reaction were investigated for the effective use of oil for fuel production. The catalyst treated with 0.25 N (RH_OA0.25) resulted in a high oil yield of 96 wt% and a residue yield of 3.47 wt%. The oil produced contained mainly aromatic compounds, which contributed 67.86% in an area-based GC-MS analysis. The synthesized catalyst showed a stable capacity for three regeneration runs. The significant factor is that the synthesized catalyst decreased the activation energy during the pyrolysis of EPW. Graphical abstract.