Catalyst screening for heavy oil production from waste plastic

• Commercial catalyst produced lighter oil than thermal pyrolysis. • Ni, CU and FE catalyst produced heavier oil than commercial catalyst. • Ferric oxide produced the heaviest oil. In fuel production from waste plastics, highly flammable hydrocarbon oils and by-product gasses are produced. These products are not suitable for developing countries, because high-precision plants and experienced operators are required for safe operation. Production of heavy oil rather than light oil is one solution to this problem. In the present study, catalytic pyrolysis of packing sheets commonly used in Vietnam was carried out in a batch reactor in order to produce heavier oil. The liquid product components were quantified by flame ionization detector-gas chromatography. Six kinds of catalysts were used for catalytic pyrolysis, including commercial SiO 2 -Al 2 O 3 , Pd on alumina, Cu, Ni, Fe 2 O 3 and Fe 3 O 4 . Pd on alumina, Cu, Ni and Fe 3 O 4 had no catalytic activity. The product components were almost the same as those produced by thermal pyrolysis with no catalyst. Al 2 O 3 -SiO 2 products had a large amount of low-carbon-number components. Fe 2 O 3 produced a small amount of light components and a large amount of heavy components. Fe 2 O 3 produced heavier oil than the other catalysts.