Energy & Fuels, Vol.34, No.5, 5969-5982, 2020
Characterization and Distillation of Pyrolysis Liquids Coming from Polyolefins Segregated of MSW for Their Use as Automotive Diesel Fuel
The liquids resulting from pyrolysis of industrial plastic waste (IPW) and postconsumer colored and white plastic film waste (PCPW and PWPW, respectively) at the pilot scale (80 kg/h) were widely characterized by different techniques to assess their potential as both petrochemical raw material and automotive diesel fuel. It was found that pyrolysis liquids mainly consisted of hydrocarbons in the diesel boiling point range (180-380 degrees C), amounting to approximately 50-55 vol %. Therefore, the results were further contrasted with limits established by the EN 590:2014 + A1:2017 standard for automotive diesel fuel. Although pyrolysis liquids showed good properties, they do not conform to some key fuel parameters for diesel engines, such as density, distillation curve, kinematic viscosity, flash point, and cold filter plugging point. To improve these properties, PWPW pyrolysis liquids were distilled in the diesel range and the liquid fractions were characterized according to automotive diesel standards. It was found that the diesel fraction met all specifications with the exception of the cold filter plugging point (-10 to 4 degrees C vs -10 degrees C winter/0 degrees C summer) and density (800-807 vs 820 kg/m(3)). To accomplish these standards, a blend of diesel obtained from PWPW pyrolysis liquids and commercial diesel (50/50 wt %) was also prepared and analyzed. Results revealed that the blend met the requirements of the 21 parameters demanded by the standard for a product to be marketed and used as automotive fuel in diesel engine vehicles.