Characterization of liquid products obtained from catalytic co-cracking of polypropylene waste and residual fuel oil

Abstract

The characterization of the liquid yield resulting from the co-cracking of Polypropylene extrusion grade and Residual fuel oil was carried out using analysis techniques like Gel Permeation chromatography, Ultimate, Calorimetry, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy analysis technique. The resulting product of liquid yield from the co-cracking of the two feedstocks in presence of catalyst Zeolite Socony Mobil–5 was observed to have high calorific values of 44.084 MJ/Kg comparable values to that of the commercial diesel and therefore, has the potential to be used as source of renewable fuel energy. The addition of catalyst and temperature has been found to have positive synergistic effect on the heating value of the liquid product. The Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy spectrum obtained from the co-cracking of Residual fuel oil and Polypropylene extrusion grade both in the presence and absence of catalyst was observed to be a mixed spectrum of their individual component and addition of catalyst had an insignificant effect on the properties of the resulting liquid except in the calorific values which were increased. The spectrum shows that the liquid product was dominated by the presence of alkanes and alkenes compounds.