Molecular-Level Understanding of Municipal Solid Waste Thermo-Catalytic Valorization (Wasteomics)


Wasteomics studies the thermo-catalytic valorization of municipal solid waste at the molecular level. Advanced analytics, miniaturized pyrolysis-catalysis reactors, data mining, reactive molecular dynamics, and microkinetic modeling are combined to map reaction networks and the formation of char and coke [110, 194].

  • Bridging model compounds and real waste feeds [110]
  • Kinetics of plastic-derived oils and blends [195, 172, 143]
  • Data-driven reaction networks [82]
  • Coke formation from waste feeds [92, 86]

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Mechanistic Insight into Heteroatom Removal from Vacuum Gas Oil Blended with PMMA or PET Waste

by Zambrano, Trueba, Hita, Palos, Azkoiti, Gutierrez, Castaño
ChemSusChem Year: 2024 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/cssc.202400581

Abstract

This work analyzes vacuum gas oil (VGO) and hydrocracking products of this feed blended with polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) or polyethylene terephthalate (PET) to clarify the oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur removal pathways in these complex mixtures. Hydrocracking reactions are conducted in a semi-batch reactor with a Pt−Pd/HY bifunctional catalyst at 400 °C and 80 bar for 300 min with 10 wt % waste plastic using 0.1 catalyst/feed weight ratio. The samples are analyzed using various techniques, including high-resolution mass spectrometry, providing an improved, more detailed analytical representation. The results demonstrate the synergistic effect of cofeeding oxygenated plastics to the VGO, altering the preferential reaction pathways of heteroatom-containing species in the following order: nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur. We assess the nature of the species from the gathered data, establish plausible reaction mechanisms, and evaluate the catalyst's role.

Keywords

ANW HPC