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Co-pyrolysis of neem wood bark and low-density polyethylene: influence of plastic on pyrolysis product distribution and bio-oil characterization

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Abstract

In this study, the investigation on the effect of plastic during co-pyrolysis with biomass was carried out in a fixed reactor. Pyrolysis of neem wood bark (NB), low density polyethylene (LDPE) and their blends at different ratios was performed in order to evaluate the product distribution. The effects of reaction temperature and NB-to-LDPE blend ratio on product distribution and the chemical compositions of pyrolysis oil were examined. The co-pyrolysis of NB and LDPE increased the yield and quality of the bio-oil. The experiments were conducted under different LDPE addition percentages such as 20%, 40%, 50%, 60% and 80%. Under the optimum experimental condition of 60% addition of LDPE and a temperature of 450 °C, the maximum yield of bio-oil (64.8 wt%) and hydrocarbon (75.2%) was achieved with the lowest yield of oxygenated compounds. The calorific value of the co-pyrolysis oil was found to be higher than that of the NB pyrolysis oil. The relationship between NB and LDPE during co-pyrolysis was validated with the help of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis, which showed decreased oxygenated compounds.

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Data availability

All the data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article.

Abbreviations

PE:

polyethylene

PP:

polypropylene

PS:

polystyrene

PET:

polyethylene terephthalate

PVC:

polyvinyl chloride

HDPE:

high density polyethylene

LDPE:

low density polyethylene

NB:

neem wood bark

SCB:

sugarcane bagasse

CO:

carbon monoxide

CO2 :

carbon dioxide

W :

initial weight of the feed

W o :

weight of bio-oil

W c :

weight of char

Y o :

yield of bio-oil

Y c :

yield of char

Y g :

yield of gas

W 1 :

pyrolysis yield of NB

W 2 :

pyrolysis yield of LDPE

X 1 :

mass ratios of NB

X 2 :

mass ratios of LDPE

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, SNS College of Technology, Tamil Nadu, 641035, Coimbatore, India

    Venkatachalam Selvaraj Kaushik, Chandrasekaran Sowmya Dhanalakshmi & Palanisamy Tamilselvam

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Karpagam College of Engineering, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, 641032, India

    Petchimuthu Madhu

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  1. Venkatachalam Selvaraj Kaushik
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  2. Chandrasekaran Sowmya Dhanalakshmi
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  3. Petchimuthu Madhu
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  4. Palanisamy Tamilselvam
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Contributions

All the authors contributed to writing and revising the manuscript. The conceptualization and methodology were drawn from Venkatachalam Selvaraj Kaushik. Supervision and investigations were done by Chandrasekaran Sowmya Dhanalakshmi and Petchimuthu Madhu. The validation part was done by Palanisamy Tamilselvam.

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Correspondence to Venkatachalam Selvaraj Kaushik.

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Kaushik, V.S., Dhanalakshmi, C.S., Madhu, P. et al. Co-pyrolysis of neem wood bark and low-density polyethylene: influence of plastic on pyrolysis product distribution and bio-oil characterization. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 88213–88223 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-21746-1

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