Undergraduate Student Training on Thermal Pyrolysis of Low Density Polyethylene for Sustainable Fuel Productions

The use of petroleum based fuels and products in the world has been continuously rising.Plastics are one the most widely used petroleum-based products in both consumer and industrial production markets.Some methods have been developed and used to manage plastic waste around the world.The more traditional and common method is recycling, which changes the form or shape of the plastic into another form without making too much damage to the environment.However, there are some drawbacks on the recycling methods because it requires a high labor cost for the separation process and water contamination that can reduce the sustainability of the overall productions.Compared to the other methods, thermal pyrolysis is not fully developed.It basically changes the molecular structure of the plastic into useful gas and liquid fuels.It mainly removes the plastic waste from the environment and recovers the energy to reduce the fuel dependence.The recovery of plastic into liquid oil through the thermal pyrolysis process has significant potential since the oil produced has a high-energy value comparable to the commercial fuels used today.In this study, recycled and pelletized Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) pellets were placed into the oxygen free reaction chamber, heated up to the decomposition temperature for a certain time period.Decomposed LDPE produced gas and liquid fuels, second of which reheated to produce diesel like fuel for many applications.Produced gas can be used as a heat source for the future pyrolysis processes.The produced fuel was characterized using different techniques.The purpose of this study is to train undergraduate students for pyrolysis process to convert plastic bags into fuel, and provide them the new developments in the field.