Solar assisted pyrolysis system for High-Density polyethylene plastic waste to fuel conversion

Aklilu T. Habtewold; Demiss A. Ambie; Wondwossen B. Eremed; Aklilu T. Habtewold; Demiss A. Ambie; Wondwossen B. Eremed

doi:10.3934/energy.2020.3.455

AIMS Energy

2020, Volume 8, Issue 3: 455-473. doi: 10.3934/energy.2020.3.455

Previous Article Next Article

Research article Topical Sections

Solar assisted pyrolysis system for High-Density polyethylene plastic waste to fuel conversion

School of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Addis Ababa Institute of Technology

Received: 11 January 2020 Accepted: 01 June 2020 Published: 15 June 2020

Plastic products are used almost in all our daily life activities due to their characteristics such as being inert, durability, flexibility, and versatility. More than 1 million tons of plastic wastes are generated daily in Ethiopia. Unless managed it properly plastic waste affects the environment immensely since they are durable and stable. Plastic wastes stay in the environment for a long time. In this paper, a solar-assisted pyrolysis system has been designed and tested for the generation of liquid fuel from High-Density Polyethylene plastic waste. Data were collected related to the solar energy potential of Addis Ababa city of Ethiopia and the amount of plastic waste generated daily. Proximate and ultimate analysis and heating value of waste were determined experimentally. The energy requirements of the pyrolysis system were determined and the sizing of the system was performed. The model is simulated using Matlab software and a mathematical model is applied to study the performance of the system. A 4 m diameter solar parabolic dish collector with a cylindrical-shaped reactor at the focal point and dual solar tracking system is used based on Addis Ababa weather data and the required energy for the endothermic pyrolysis. Based on the result, the conversion efficiency of the system is 72% by weight. The result also shows 1360 Kwh/m² of solar energy is required to produce 14.2 liters of liquid fuel from High-Density Polyethylene plastic waste. The heating value of the produced liquid fuel is 41.8 MJ/kg. Thus, by using a solar-assisted pyrolysis system a liquid fuel has been produced from plastic waste, income is generated from the selling of the produced liquid fuel, and the environmental impact of waste plastic is reduced.
- solar-assisted pyrolysis,
- High-Density Polyethylene,
- waste,
- fuel,
- heating value
Citation: Aklilu T. Habtewold, Demiss A. Ambie, Wondwossen B. Eremed. Solar assisted pyrolysis system for High-Density polyethylene plastic waste to fuel conversion[J]. AIMS Energy, 2020, 8(3): 455-473. doi: 10.3934/energy.2020.3.455

Related Papers:

Abstract

Plastic products are used almost in all our daily life activities due to their characteristics such as being inert, durability, flexibility, and versatility. More than 1 million tons of plastic wastes are generated daily in Ethiopia. Unless managed it properly plastic waste affects the environment immensely since they are durable and stable. Plastic wastes stay in the environment for a long time. In this paper, a solar-assisted pyrolysis system has been designed and tested for the generation of liquid fuel from High-Density Polyethylene plastic waste. Data were collected related to the solar energy potential of Addis Ababa city of Ethiopia and the amount of plastic waste generated daily. Proximate and ultimate analysis and heating value of waste were determined experimentally. The energy requirements of the pyrolysis system were determined and the sizing of the system was performed. The model is simulated using Matlab software and a mathematical model is applied to study the performance of the system. A 4 m diameter solar parabolic dish collector with a cylindrical-shaped reactor at the focal point and dual solar tracking system is used based on Addis Ababa weather data and the required energy for the endothermic pyrolysis. Based on the result, the conversion efficiency of the system is 72% by weight. The result also shows 1360 Kwh/m² of solar energy is required to produce 14.2 liters of liquid fuel from High-Density Polyethylene plastic waste. The heating value of the produced liquid fuel is 41.8 MJ/kg. Thus, by using a solar-assisted pyrolysis system a liquid fuel has been produced from plastic waste, income is generated from the selling of the produced liquid fuel, and the environmental impact of waste plastic is reduced.

References

[1]	Commission, European (2011) Plastic waste: Ecological and human health impacts.
[2]	The American Chemistry Council (2015) 2015 Plastics-To-Fuel Project Developer's Guide. Ocean Recovery Alliance.
[3]	Barnes DKA, Galgani F, Thompson RC, et al. (2009) Accumulation and fragmentation of plastic debris in global environments. Philos Trans R Soc B Biol Sci 364: 1985-1998. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2008.0205
[4]	Asgedom AG, Desta MB (2012) The environmental impacts of the disposal of plastic ags and water bottles in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. Sacha J Environ Stud 2: 81-94.
[5]	Negussie B, Mustefa J (2017) Environmental public health performance standards- Environmental health program Self-assessment instrument. (Version 2), Pollution 3: 147-156.
[6]	Sogancioglu M, Yel E, Ahmetli G (2017) Pyrolysis of waste high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and low-density polyethylene (LDPE) plastics and production of epoxy composites with their pyrolysis chars. J Clean Prod 165: 369-381. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.07.157
[7]	Kumar S, Singh RK (2014) Pyrolysis kinetics of waste High-density polyethylene using thermogravimetric analysis. 6: 131-137.
[8]	Garcia-Perez M, Al E (2013) Methods for Producing Biochar and Advanced Biofuels in Washington State. Part 3: Literature Review 12: 125.
[9]	Safadi Y, Zeaiter J, Ahmad M (2013) Advanced modeling of high-density polyethylene pyrolysis. 5: 123-128.
[10]	Lombardi L, Carnevale E, Corti A (2015) A review of technologies and performances of thermal treatment systems for energy recovery from waste. Waste Manage 37: 26-44. doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2014.11.010
[11]	Panda AK, Singh RK (2013) Experimental optimization of process for the Thermo-catalytic degradation of waste polypropylene to liquid fuel. Adv Energy Eng 1.
[12]	Panda AK, Singh RK, Mishra DK (2010) Thermolysis of waste plastics to liquid fuel A suitable method for plastic waste management and manufacture of value-added products-A world prospective. 14: 233-248.
[13]	Panda AK, Murugan S, Singh RK (2016) Performance and emission characteristics of diesel fuel produced from waste plastic oil obtained by catalytic pyrolysis of waste polypropylene. Energy Sources, Part A Recover. Util Environ Eff 38: 568-576. doi: 10.1080/15567036.2013.800924
[14]	Mašek O (2013) Production of biochar-different aspects of pyrolysis Biochar production, from lab to deployment; overview of challenges Pyrolysis/torrefaction and biochar production research at UKBRC.
[15]	Muvhiiwa R, Kuvarega A, Llana EM, et al. (2019) Study of biochar from pyrolysis and gasification of wood pellets in a nitrogen plasma reactor for design of biomass processes. J Environ Chem Eng 7: 103391. doi: 10.1016/j.jece.2019.103391
[16]	Li F, Shen K, Long X, et al. (2016) Preparation and characterization of biochars from eichornia crassipes for cadmium removal in aqueous solutions. PLoS One 11: 7-9.
[17]	Joardder MUH, Halder PK, Rahim A, et al. (2014) Solar assisted fast pyrolysis: A novel approach of renewable energy production. J Eng (United Kingdom) 2014.
[18]	Flamant KG, Gauthier D, Guillot E (2015) Solar pyrolysis of wood in a Lab-scale solar reactor: Influence of temperature and sweep gas flow rate on products distribution. Energy Procedia 69: 1849-1858. doi: 10.1016/j.egypro.2015.03.163
[19]	Soria J, Zeng K, Asensio D, et al. (2017) Comprehensive CFD modelling of solar fast pyrolysis of beech wood pellets. Fuel Process Technol 158: 226-237. doi: 10.1016/j.fuproc.2017.01.006
[20]	Matsunami J, Yoshida S, Yokota O, et al. (1999) Gasification of waste tyre and plastic (PET) by solar thermochemical process for solar energy utilization. Sol Energy 65: 21-23. doi: 10.1016/S0038-092X(98)00085-1
[21]	Sancho JA, María PA, José MT (2008) Catalytic air gasification of plastic waste (polypropylene) in fluidized bed. Part I: Use of in-gasifier bed additives. Ind Eng Chem Res 47: 1005-1010.
[22]	Albanese JAF, Ruiz MP (2015) Gasification of plastic waste as waste-to-energy or waste-to-syngas recovery route. Apple Academic Press: 267-290.
[23]	Joardder MUH, Halder PK, Rahim MA, et al. (2017) Solar pyrolysis: converting waste into asset using solar energy. In Clean Energy for Sustainable Development, Academic Press: 213-235.
[24]	Sharuddin SD, Faisal A, Daud WM, et al. (2016) A review on pyrolysis of plastic wastes. Energy Convers Manage 115: 308-326. doi: 10.1016/j.enconman.2016.02.037
[25]	Hori T, Kobayashi K, Teranishi S, et al. (2020) Fuel cell and electrolyzer using plastic waste directly as fuel. Waste Manage 102: 30-39. doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2019.10.019
[26]	Duffie JA, Beckman WA, Blair N (2020) Solar Engineering of Thermal Processes, Photovoltiacs and Wind, Jhon Wiley and Son, Inc. 5^th Edition.

Reader Comments

Your name:*

Email:*
© 2020 the Author(s), licensee AIMS Press. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)