Improving oil quality from waste pyrolysis using natural zeolite catalysts: towards sustainable resource recovery

Tyre is a polymer material that is not biodegradable. If it is not treated in the right way, it will cause considerable problems. Therefore, it is necessary to deal with waste tyre processing. One of the methods to deal with tyre waste is pyrolysis. The pyrolysis process was conducted with and without a zeolite catalyst. This study aims to determine the characterisation of natural zeolite after activation and its effect on the pyrolysis of waste tyres. The characteristics of natural zeolite were carried out using BET and EDX tests. The amount of catalyst used in this pyrolysis process is 10% of the total weight of waste tyre, which is 500 grams. Based on the results of the study, the activation process of zeolite affects the amount of surface area and Si/Al ratio of natural zeolite catalysts. The yield of liquid fuel with the catalyst tends to decrease. In the temperature range of 250°C - 350°C, the product liquid ranges from 30% - 33 wt%, but has a lower flash point. Natural zeolite from Indonesia has proven to be a promising catalyst for catalyst applications.