Catalytic conversion and chemical recovery

Polymers are large molecules, whether natural or synthetic, brought together through polymerisation giving rise to a wide range of products and applications in the manufacturing, medical, engineering, fashion and aviation sector. The increase in world demand of polymers has led to accumulation of plastic waste in the environment, specifically in landfills which has serious consequences to human and animal health. The non-biodegradable nature of synthetic polymers has produced the need for more sustainable and efficient waste processing methods like pyrolysis. Pyrolysis is a chemical process which treats plastic waste with thermal energy to recover desirable products such as fuels for energy, and chemical feedstocks. This process has attracted a lot of attention due to the fact that it does not produce harmful gases and has lower carbon monoxide and dioxide emissions when compared to other plastic solid waste (PSW) methods. In this work, the catalytic and non-catalytic methods are discussed along with an in-depth review of the different techniques used in the pyrolysis process. The operation variables effect will also be discussed, as well as the different reactor types. A review of different processing and co-processing methods will also be highlighted.