Trash-to-fuel: Converting municipal waste into transportation fuels by pyrolysis

In daily life humankind is producing a significant amount of garbage, creating a great environmental concern. However, garbage consists of high amounts of carbon based materials, making it a very useful resource. An easy way to use it is to produce transport fuels obtained through pyrolysis. Multiple plastic waste materials were investigated here. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of individual polymers shows that almost complete conversion could be achieved. More than 70% liquid fuels were derived from pyrolysis of polypropylene, polystyrene at 450°C, and low-/high-density polyethylene at 500°C. Using gas chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry (GC/HR-MS) allows studying the thermal transformation and proposing a mechanism. An examination of carbon number distribution reveals the potential of plastic liquid fuels, which can be used as an alternative to partial substitution of fossil-fuel-derived gasoline and diesel fuel and also provides a final use of polymer materials, which otherwise would be deposited on waste dumps.