Recycled Plastics in FCC Feedstocks: Specific Contributions

G. DE LA PUENTE; J.M. ARANDES; U. SEDRAN

INDUSTRIAL & ENGINEERING CHEMICAL RESEARCH

AMER CHEMICAL SOC

Lugar: Washington; Año: 1997 vol. 36 p. 4530 - 4534

0888-5885

Following a tertiary recycling option for plastics focused on the FCC process, styrene-basedpolymers were dissolved in benzene and injected over fresh and equilibrium samples of acommercial FCC catalyst. Reaction times were up to 12 s in a discontinuous fluidized bed reactorat 550 °C. The major reaction products were ethylbenzene, benzene, toluene, and styrene, andthe production of coke was very significant. A reaction mechanism which includes polymerthermal cracking, surface oligomerization of styrene molecules, and further cracking, in parallelto hydrogen-transfer reactions, was delineated based on the comparison of the catalytic behaviorsof the different samples. Increases in the yields of ethylbenzene, styrene, and coke are predictablefor the industrial conditions.