Can low-thickness, low-value mixed plastic waste be converted into petrochemical fuels on a large scale?

Disposal of low-thickness, low-value mixed plastic waste is a global problem that experts are addressing through various waste-treatment technologies. Catalytic pyrolysis is one such technology for converting plastic waste into valuable petrochemical fuels. However, most researchers have focused on bench-scale experiments in controlled environments, which limits the technology's scale-up. In addition, most of the existing research studies examine either individual or 3-4 mixtures of virgin plastic waste streams, which may not accurately reflect the complexities of processing diverse, real-world mixed plastic waste. Hence, the current study aims to address the above issues by treating large-scale, low-value, low-thickness single-use plastic mixed waste, comprising filler-rich plastic bags, multi-layered plastics, and dairy product packaging, etc., without segregation, washing, or inert gas usage. About 1.8 metric tons per day (600 kg per batch) of the said materials were processed for producing raw pyro-oil with a yield of 57-66% and pyro-gas and pyro-char as by-products. Subsequently, the raw oil was upgraded into pyro-fuel-cut 1 and pyro-fuel-cut 2, and their physicochemical properties were compared with the commercial petrochemical fuels.