Abstract
Thermolysis as applied to plastics wastes includes refinery and pyrolytic processes that produce monomers, fuels or gases. Thermolysis is not combustion but involves rather a complex set of reactions that depends both on the plastics involved and the precise nature of the thermolytic process used. Important classes of thermolytic processes include high temperature pyrolysis to monomers, lower temperature refinery processes to produce naphtha-like materials and thermal oxidation /gasification. Such processes are, in principle, applicable to certain single contaminated plastics or mixtures with high selectivity to monomers, or certain significantly contaminated commingled waste streams. Following a presentation of fundamentals on polymer thermal degradation and pyrolysis, this section examines existing and developmental technologies in high and low temperature pyrolysis, refinery processes (steam cracking, coking, hydrocracking, catalytic cracking) and gasification/thermal oxidation. Details on selected processes are provided.
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© 1998 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Xanthos, M., Leidner, J. (1998). Thermolytic Processes. In: Akovali, G., Bernardo, C.A., Leidner, J., Utracki, L.A., Xanthos, M. (eds) Frontiers in the Science and Technology of Polymer Recycling. NATO ASI Series, vol 351. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-1626-0_19
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-1626-0_19
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