Waste Plastics to Fuel and Petrochemicals

CSIR-IIP together with GAIL (India) Ltd. has developed a novel hydrogen free thermo-catalytic process by which polyolefinic waste plastics like polyethylene and polypropylene can be converted exclusively into any one of the products, viz,. gasoline or diesel or  aromatics  along with simultaneous production of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) range hydrocarbons. The process comprises of pyrolysis followed by catalytic conversion and subsequent condensation and fractionation to get the desired products.The gasoline and diesel meet most of the BS IV/VI specifications of automotive grade fuel an dthe aromatics are rich in toluene and xylene. The process can utilize PE and PP type waste plastics for producing valuable products

The rapid increase in the consumption of plastics has also resulted in the simultaneous generation of enormous amount of waste plastics. The major sources of waste  plastics  are  process industries, production industries and municipal solid wastes with the polyolefinic (polyethylenes and polypropylenes) wastes constituting the bulk. The plastics are non biodegradable and hence their increased utilization is also simultaneously resulting in increased generation of plastic wastes. The present methods of disposal of waste plastics like land filling  and incineration have inherent drawbacks such as turning enormous amount of land into waste  and emission of  toxic gases. CSIR-IIP-GAIL technology provides a viable solution for utilization  of these waste plastics by converting them into products like gasoline and diesel which can be used for running automobiles, gesnets etc. The process can be utilized for setting  up  various capacity plants, ranging from 1-20 TPD.

The salient featrues of this technology are:

• Exclusive production of any one of the products viz. gasoline or diesel or aromatics alongwith
• The liquid fuel (gasoline/diesel) meeting most of the BS IV/VI specifications. These have been tested on a passenger car and their performance is comparable to commercial automotive fuel. 
• The uncondensed gases can be utilized for recovery of LPG as well as internal consumption in the plant