Catalytic Pyrolysis Process to Produce Styrene from Waste Expanded Polystyrene Using a Semi-Batch Rotary Reactor

Gerardo Pérez-Bravo, José Luis Contreras-Larios (), Jorge Francisco Rodríguez, Beatriz Zeifert-Soares, Deyanira Angeles-Beltrán, Ricardo López-Medina, Tamara Vázquez-Rodríguez and José Salmones-Blasquez
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Gerardo Pérez-Bravo: Department of Energy, División de Ciencias Básicas e Ingeniería—CBI, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana—Azcapotzalco, Av. San Pablo 180, Col. Reynosa, Mexico City 02200, Mexico
José Luis Contreras-Larios: Department of Energy, División de Ciencias Básicas e Ingeniería—CBI, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana—Azcapotzalco, Av. San Pablo 180, Col. Reynosa, Mexico City 02200, Mexico
Jorge Francisco Rodríguez: Biomex Solutions, Mexicali 12, Col. Hipódromo, Alc. Cuauhtémoc, Mexico City 06100, Mexico
Beatriz Zeifert-Soares: Department of Engineering in Metallurgy and Materials, Escuela de Ingeniería Química e Industrias Extractivas—ESIQIE, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Av. IPN Col. Lindavista, Mexico City 07738, Mexico
Deyanira Angeles-Beltrán: Department of Basic Sciences, División de Ciencias Básicas e Ingeniería—CBI, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana—Azcapotzalco, Av. San Pablo 180, Col. Reynosa, Mexico City 02200, Mexico
Ricardo López-Medina: Department of Energy, División de Ciencias Básicas e Ingeniería—CBI, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana—Azcapotzalco, Av. San Pablo 180, Col. Reynosa, Mexico City 02200, Mexico
Tamara Vázquez-Rodríguez: Department of Engineering in Metallurgy and Materials, Escuela de Ingeniería Química e Industrias Extractivas—ESIQIE, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Av. IPN Col. Lindavista, Mexico City 07738, Mexico
José Salmones-Blasquez: Sección de Estudios de Posgrado, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Escuela Superior de Ingeniería Química e Industrias Extractivas-ESIQIE, Av IPN Col. Lindavista, Mexico City 07738, Mexico

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 22, 1-28

Abstract: Thermal and catalytic pyrolysis of waste expanded polystyrene (WEPS) was studied to obtain mainly styrene monomer, which can be recycled in the polystyrene industry. Initially, preliminary experiments were carried out in a static semi-batch glass reactor with basic catalysts and without catalysts, using toluene as solvent at 250 °C, determining their styrene yields to select the best catalyst. MgO turned out to be the best catalyst due to its stability and cost. This catalyst was characterized by XRD, BET area, SEM-EDS, Raman spectroscopy, UV–VIS, and TGA. The kinetic equation for WEPS pyrolysis in the glass reactor was determined as a first-order reaction. The heat of reaction, the Gibbs free energy change, and the entropy change were calculated. Finally, WEPS pyrolysis experiments were carried out using a rotating semi-batch steel reactor, at higher temperatures and without using solvents, evaluating the styrene yield and its performance for its possible industrial application. In this reaction, the activity remained almost constant after four catalyst regenerations. The best styrene yield was 94 wt%, which could be one of the highest reported in the literature. This result may be associated with the back-mixing obtained in the rotary reactor, in contrast to the performance observed in the static glass reactor.

Keywords: styrene; waste expanded polystyrene; catalytic pyrolysis; MgO catalyst; recycle; rotary reactor (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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