Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Co-pyrolysis of polyethylene terephthalate and poplar wood: influence of zeolite catalyst on coke formation

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In this study, poplar wood and PET were co-pyrolysed in a fixed-bed reactor in the absence/presence of zeolite (A4 type), aiming to understand the migration pathway of oxygen from both oxygen-containing feedstocks into products. The results indicated that both co-pyrolysis and the zeolite catalyst affected the properties of the products. Comparing to single feedstock, the co-pyrolysis enhanced the yields of tar, while reduced the formation of char, and wax. In addition, the co-pyrolysis decreased the abundance of oxygen-containing and unsaturated species in the tar, and oxygen migrated from feedstock mainly into gas phase in the form of CO and CO2. Zeolite further enhanced the rate of cracking, reducing the yield of char and wax, while increasing the formation of gases. The high rate of cracking/deoxygenation reactions over the zeolite catalyst led to the formation of more light organics, which were mainly saturated aliphatics or aromatics, in the tar. In addition, the zeolite catalyst changed the structure of char, but it did not affect the structure of wax significantly. Little amount of oxygen-containing coke with mainly organized aromatic structure was formed. Zeolite enhanced the migration of oxygen into char and coke. A substantial amount of monoaromatics were formed inside the tar.

Graphical abstract

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Chamas A, Moon H, Zheng J, Qiu Y, Tabassum T, Jang JH, Abu-Omar M, Scott SL, Suh S (2020) Degradation rates of plastics in the environment. ACS Sustain Chem Eng 8:3494–3511

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Panahi L, Gholizadeh M, Hajimohammadi R (2020) Investigating the degradability of polyethylene using starch, oxo-material, and polylactic acid under the different environmental conditions. Asia-Pac J Chem Eng 15:1–12

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Li C, Zhang C, Gholizadeh M, Hu X (2020) Different reaction behaviours of light or heavy density polyethylene during the pyrolysis with biochar as the catalyst. J Hazard Mater 339:1–15

    Google Scholar 

  4. Nanda S, Berruti F (2020) Municipal solid waste management and landfilling technologies: a review. Environ Chem Lett 1:1–24

    Google Scholar 

  5. Vaida D, Lelea D (2017) Municipal solid waste incineration: recovery or disposal. Case study of City Timisoara, Romania. Procedia Eng 181:378–384

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Rani DA, Boccaccini AR, Deegan D, Cheeseman CR (2008) Air pollution control residues from waste incineration: current UK situation and assessment of alternative technologies. Waste Manage 28:2279–2292

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Mor S, Ravindra K, Dahiya RP, Chandra A (2006) Leachate characterization and assessment of groundwater pollution near municipal solid waste landfill site. Environ Monit Assess 118:435–456

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Gholizadeh M, Hu X, Liu Q (2019) A mini review of the specialties of the bio-oils produced from pyrolysis of 20 different biomasses. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 114:1–28

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Hasan MDM, Wang XS, Mourant D, Gunawan R, Yu C, Hu X, Kadarwati S, Gholizadeh M, Wu H, Li B, Zhang L, Li C-Z (2017) Grinding pyrolysis of Mallee wood: effects of pyrolysis conditions on the yields of bio-oil and biochar. Fuel Process Technol 167:215–220

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Mohan D, Pittman CU, Steele PH (2006) Pyrolysis of wood/biomass for bio-oil: a critical review. Energy Fuels 20:848–889

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Hu X, Gholizadeh M (2020) Progress of the applications of bio-oil. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 134:1–27

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Czernik S, Bridgwater AV (2004) Overview of applications of biomass fast pyrolysis oil. Energy Fuels 18:590–598

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Zacher A, Olarte M, Santosa D, Elliot DC, Jones B (2014) A review and perspective of recent bio-oil hydrotreating research. Green Chem 16:491–515

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Han Y, Gholizadeh M, Tran C-C, Kaliaguine S, Li C-Z, Olarte M, Garcia-Perez M (2019) Hydrotreatment of pyrolysis bio-oil: a review. Fuel Process Technol 195:106–140

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Ryu HW, Kim DH, Jae J, Lam SS, Park ED, Park Y-K (2020) Recent advances in catalytic co-pyrolysis of biomass and plastic waste for the production of petroleum-like hydrocarbons. Biores Technol 310:1–8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Hassan H, Lim JK, Hameed BH (2016) Recent progress on biomass co-pyrolysis conversion into high-quality bio-oil. Biores Technol 221:645–655

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Dorado C, Mullen CA, Boateng AA (2014) H-ZSM5 Catalyzed co-pyrolysis of biomass and plastics. ACS Sustain Chem Eng 2:301–311

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Chattopadhyay J, Pathak TS, Srivastava R, Singh AC (2016) Catalytic co-pyrolysis of paper biomass and plastic mixtures (HDPE (high density polyethylene), PP (polypropylene) and PET (polyethylene terephthalate)) and product analysis. Energy 103:513–521

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Ozsin G, Putun AE (2018) A comparative study on co-pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass with polyethylene terephthalate, polystyrene, and polyvinyl chloride: synergistic effects and product characteristics. J Clean Prod 205:1127–1138

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Zhao Y, Wang Y, Duan D, Ruan R, Fan L, Zhou Y, Dai L, Lv J, Liu Y (2018) Fast microwave-assisted ex-catalytic co-pyrolysis of bamboo and polypropylene for bio-oil production. Biores Technol 249:69–75

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Suriapparao DV, Boruah B, Raja D, Vinu R (2018) Microwave assisted co-pyrolysis of biomasses with polypropylene and polystyrene for high quality bio-oil production. Fuel Process Technol 175:64–75

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Ghorbannezhad P, Park S, Onwudili JA (2020) Co-pyrolysis of biomass and plastic waste over zeolite- and sodium-based catalysts for enhanced yields of hydrocarbon products. Waste Manage 102:909–918

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Li J, Yu Y, Li X, Wang W, Yu G, Deng S, Huang J, Wang B, Wang Y (2015) Maximizing carbon efficiency of petrochemical production from catalytic co-pyrolysis of biomass and plastics using gallium-containing MFI zeolites. Appl Catal B 172–173:154–164

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Wu F, Ben H, Yang Y, Jia H, Wang R, Han G (2020) Effects of different conditions on co-pyrolysis behavior of corn stover and polypropylene. Polymers 12 9 1–47

  25. Wan J, Jiang J, Zhong Z, Wang K, Wang X, Zhang B, Ruan R, Li M, Ragauskas AJ (2019) Catalytic fast co-pyrolysis of bamboo sawdust and waste plastics for enhanced aromatic hydrocarbons production using synthesized CeO2/γ-Al2O3 and HZSM-5. Energy Convers Manage 196:759–767

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Iftikhar H, Zeeshan M, Iqbal S, Muneer B, Razzaq M (2019) Co-pyrolysis of sugarcane bagasse and polystyrene with ex-situ catalytic bed of metal oxides/HZSM-5 with focus on liquid yield. Biores Technol 289:1–9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Luo W, Dong H, Wang T, Zhang S, Zhang D, Li B, Huang S, Hu J, Song M, Zhou Z (2021) Co-pyrolysis of Chinese herb residue and polypropylene over Ni, Fe, Co and Cu/AC: co-production and formation mechanism of carbon nanomaterials, liquid oil and pyrolysis gas. Energy 1:1–10

    Google Scholar 

  28. Li C, Zhang C, Zhang L, Gholizadeh M, Hu X (2020) Catalytic pyrolysis of tire waste: impacts of biochar catalyst on product evolution. Waste Manage 116:9–21

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Jia H, Ben H, Luo Y, Wang R (2020) Catalytic fast pyrolysis of poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET) with zeolite and nickel chloride. Polymers 12:1–14

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Hu X, Gholizadeh M (2019) Biomass pyrolysis: a review of the process development and challenges from initial researches up to the commercialisation stage, Journal of Energy. Chemistry 39:109–143

    Google Scholar 

  31. Liang C, Zhang L, Zheng Y, Zhang S, Liu Q, Gao G, Dong D, Wang Y, Xu L, Hu X (2020) Methanation of CO2 over nickel catalysts: impacts of acidic/basic sites on formation of the reaction intermediates. Fuel 262:1–10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Nishu R, Liu MM, Rahman M, Sarker M, Chai C, Li J (2020) Cai, A review on the catalytic pyrolysis of biomass for the bio-oil production with ZSM-5: Focus on structure. Fuel Process Technol 199:1–15

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Onwudili JA, Muhammad C, Williams PT (2019) Influence of catalyst bed temperature and properties of zeolite catalysts on pyrolysis-catalysis of a simulated mixed plastics sample for the production of upgraded fuels and chemicals. J Energy Inst 92:1337–1347

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Salavati S, Zhang CT, Zhang S, Liu Q, Gholizadeh M, Hu X (2019) Cross-interaction during co-gasification of wood, weed, plastic, tire and carton. J Environ Manage 250:1–15

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Esmaeili V, Ajalli J, Faramarzi A, Abdi M, Gholizadeh M (2020) Gasification of wastes: the impact of the feedstock type and co-gasification on the formation of volatiles and char. Int J Energy Res 1:1–20

    Google Scholar 

  36. Hu X, Guo H, Gholizadeh M, Sattari B, Liu Q (2019) Pyrolysis of different wood species: impacts of C/H ratio in feedstock on distribution of pyrolysis products. Biomass Bioenerg 120:28–39

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Li C, Zhang C, Sun K, Zhang Z, Zhang L, Zhang S, Liu Q, Hu G, Wang S, Hu X (2020) Pyrolysis of saw dust with co-feeding of methanol. Renew Energy 160:1023–1035

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Zhang CT, Zhang L, Li Q, Wang Y, Liu Q, Wei T, Dong D, Salavati S, Gholizadeh M, Hu X (2019) Catalytic pyrolysis of poplar wood over transition metal oxides: correlation of catalytic behaviors with physiochemical properties of the oxides. Biomass Bioenergy 124:125–141

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Bakatula EN, Mosai AK, Tutu H (2015) Removal of uranium from aqueous solutions using ammonium-modified zeolite, South African. J Chem 68:165–171

    Google Scholar 

  40. Li C, Ataei F, Atashi F, Hu X, Gholizadeh M (2021) Catalytic pyrolysis of polyethylene terephthalate over zeolite catalyst: characteristics of coke and the products. Int J Energy Res 45:19028–19042

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Park Y-K, Jung J, Ryu S, Lee HW, Siddiqui MZ, Jae J, Watanabe A, Kim Y-M (2019) Catalytic co-pyrolysis of yellow poplar wood and polyethylene terephthalate over two stage calcium oxide-ZSM-5. Appl Energy 250: 1706–1718

  42. Fan L, Ruan R, Li J, Ma L, Wang C, Zhou W (2020) Aromatics production from fast co-pyrolysis of lignin and waste cooking oil catalyzed by HZSM-5 zeolite. Appl Energy 263:1–11

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This work was supported by University of Tabriz, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51876080), the Strategic International Scientific and Technological Innovation Cooperation Special Funds of National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2016YFE0204000), and the Program for Taishan Scholars of Shandong Province Government.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

    Yousef Keramatian & Mortaza Gholizadeh

  2. School of Material Science and Engineering, University of Jinan, Jinan, 250022, People’s Republic of China

    Chao Li & Xun Hu

Authors
  1. Yousef Keramatian
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Chao Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Xun Hu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Mortaza Gholizadeh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Xun Hu or Mortaza Gholizadeh.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Highlights

• Co-pyrolysis enhanced yield and improved fuel properties of tar.

• Catalytic co-pyrolysis enhanced transfer of oxygen into gases.

• Zeolite increased the rate of deoxygenation and aromatization reactions.

• Zeolite enhanced formation of graphite structures in char.

• Little coke with mainly aromatic structure formed on zeolites.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Keramatian, Y., Li, C., Hu, X. et al. Co-pyrolysis of polyethylene terephthalate and poplar wood: influence of zeolite catalyst on coke formation. Biomass Conv. Bioref. 13, 16099–16113 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-022-02312-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-022-02312-8

Keyword

Search

Navigation