Conversion of Low Density Polyethylene into Fuel Products Using Gachi Clay as Catalyst

Abstract

The use of Gachi clay as catalyst for the cracking of polyethylene was investigated. The yield of reaction was determined by the relative amounts of oil, wax and gas produced during the process. All the fractions were found to contain hydrocarbons. All the products of the reaction can be used as fuel or feed stock for the oil industry. The nature of liquid product was similar to gasoline. The relative proportion of the products of the reaction was found to depend upon the reaction conditions Therefore the amount of catalyst, temperature of pyrolysis and time for reaction was optimized both of the crude and activated forms of the catalyst separately. The cracking efficiency of the activated catalyst was found greater than that of crude. The liquid and wax products were separated by G.C. equipped with F.I.D. These products were identified as olefin and paraffin hydrocarbons using I.R. spectra and chemical tests.