Investigation of Oil and Facility Characteristics of Plastic Waste Pyrolysis for the Advanced Waste Recycling Policy

Alternative chemical and fuel oil produced from plastic waste may play a key role in national sustainable development. The Korean government has promoted several waste recycling policies including waste to energy. Here, we focus on the investigation of the oil and facility characteristics of plastic waste pyrolysis. Four pyrolysis facilities, which had different pyrolysis processes and produced various oil properties, were chosen in order to develop an advanced waste recycling policy. Pyrolysis oil recovery efficiency and chemical characteristics were influenced by feedstock and pyrolysis conditions. In terms of pyrolysis gases, the gas quantity was different due to the pyrolyzer operation conditions, but the characteristics of gas composition were not especially distinguished. In addition, air pollutants, such as carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx), and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) from the pyrolysis process were analyzed to evaluate the environmental effects on the surrounding area. The air pollutant concentration varied, but those from the process were adequately controlled. From the aforementioned results, several improvements have been deduced to manage the pyrolysis oil facility and product in advanced policy decisions.