Control of the fate of toxic pollutants from catalytic pyrolysis of polyurethane by oxidation using CO₂

Jong-Min JUNG, Taewoo LEE, Sungyup JUNG, Yiu Fai TSANG, Amit BHATNAGAR, Sang Soo LEE, Hocheol SONG, Won-Kun PARK, Eilhann E. KWON

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlespeer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In automotive industry, plastic consumption has substantially increased due to its affordability, durability, and lightness. However, the massive generation of plastic wastes from the automotive industry becomes a growing environmental concern. Current disposal methods of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) are incineration and landfilling, but these methods generate toxic chemicals and leachate into the environment. To propose more sustainable disposal platform for ELVs, this study used a pyrolysis process using CO₂ as a reaction medium. As a case study, automotive seat form (ASF) in ELVs was disposed and valorized through the CO₂-assisted pyrolysis. ASF, composed of polyurethane, generated harmful aromatic compounds during pyrolysis process such as benzene, aniline and their derivatives. To convert harmful chemicals into value-added syngas (H₂ and CO), catalytic pyrolysis of ASF was performed using a nickel catalyst. Effects of both CO₂ and nickel catalyst showed 89.9 wt.% reduction of toxic chemical production by converting them into syngas, as comparing to pyrolysis without Ni catalyst. Gas-phase-reaction between CO₂ and pyrogenic products from ASF resulted in more than 200 times of CO production. Also, CO₂ suppressed catalyst deactivation. Therefore, this study suggested that CO₂ and plastic waste from ELVs can be converted to value-added products through CO₂-assisted catalytic pyrolysis. Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V.
Original languageEnglish
Article number136358
JournalChemical Engineering Journal
Volume442
Issue numberPt. 1
Early online date12 Apr 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Aug 2022

Citation

Jung, J.-M., Lee, T., Jung, S., Tsang, Y. F., Bhatnagar, A., Lee, S. S., . . . Kwon, E. E. (2022). Control of the fate of toxic pollutants from catalytic pyrolysis of polyurethane by oxidation using CO₂. Chemical Engineering Journal, 442(Pt.1). Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2022.136358

Keywords

  • Circular economy
  • End-of-life vehicles (ELVs)
  • Catalytic pyrolysis
  • Polyurethane
  • Carbon dioxide
  • Pollutant control

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