UPCYCLING OF PLASTIC WASTE FOR RESOURCE RECOVERY: UNVEILING THE TECHNICAL CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES TOWARDS THE COMMERCIALIZATION OF PLASTIC-BASED CIRCULAR ECONOMY
Detritus, cilt.35, ss.52-66, 2026 (ESCI, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 35
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.31025/2611-4135/2026.19594
- Dergi Adı: Detritus
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Scopus
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.52-66
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Conventional fuel, Liquid oil, Plastic waste, Polystyrene, Pyrolysis
- Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
The study aimed to analyze the effects of different plastic wastes, including Polystyrene (PS), Polyethylene (PE), and Polypropylene (PP), and their 50:50 mixture on the yield and quality of liquid oil through pyrolysis. A small-scale batch pyrolysis reactor with the total capacity of 10kg was commissioned and operated at 550°C with a retention time of 90minutes. Results revealed that the highest feedstock conversion to liquid oil (51%) was recorded for PS compared to other types of plastic waste, where-as among mixed plastics, PE:PS produced the highest liquid oil yield (39%). The physicochemical analysis demonstrated that the obtained oils were predominantly aromatic compounds, with some alkanes and alkenes. Moreover, liquid oils from all types of plastic waste showed the density between 0.734 and 0.892g ml-1, viscosity (1.99 to 3.1mm2 s-1), flash point (29 to 48°C), and high heating value (37.2 to 42.4MJ kg-1). Based on the obtained results, an in-depth discussion has been conducted on the utilization of the produced liquid oil and gases in several energy-related applications, including transportation, heating, and electricity production, along with the applicability of the resultant char for several energy and environmental applications. Moreover, it has been emphasized that the key bottleneck in commercializing the plastic-based circular economy concept requires the continuous feedstock supply, characterization and pretreatment of feedstock to eliminate toxicity, approaches for reducing wax formation, technological advancements to enhance the quality and yield of pyrolysis, and detailed life cycle assessment to achieve maximum environmental and human health benefits.