Synergetic biofuel production from co-pyrolysis of food and plastic waste: reaction kinetics and product behavior

Apip Amrullah; Obie Farobie; Shofwatunnida Septarini; Justinus A Satrio

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10278

Synergetic biofuel production from co-pyrolysis of food and plastic waste: reaction kinetics and product behavior

Heliyon. 2022 Aug 17;8(8):e10278. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10278. eCollection 2022 Aug.

Authors

Apip Amrullah¹, Obie Farobie², Shofwatunnida Septarini³, Justinus A Satrio⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lambung Mangkurat University, Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, Indonesia.
² Department of Mechanical and Biosystem Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, IPB University (Bogor Agricultural University), IPB Darmaga Campus, PO BOX 220, Bogor, West Java 16680, Indonesia.
³ Environmental Engineering Department, Universitas Hamzanwadi, Selong 83612, Indonesia.
⁴ Department of Chemical Engineering, Villanova University, Villanova, Pennsylvania 19085, United States.

Abstract

This study aimed to develop a process for producing bio-oil, char, and value-added chemicals from food waste and plastic waste blend using co-pyrolysis under controlled conditions. The food waste (rice, vegetables, and fish) was blended in definite ratios (70:30, 60:40, and 50:50 w/w) with polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Experiments were conducted at various temperatures (250, 300, and 350 °C) and reaction times (30, 60, 90, and 120 min). A kinetic analysis was performed to fit experimental data, and reaction kinetics were observed to follow Arrhenius behavior. Maximum yields of bio-oil and bio-char, 66 and 40 wt% respectively, were attained at 350 °C, with yields being strongly influenced by variations in temperature and weakly affected by variations in reaction time. Co-pyrolysis promoted the formation of carboxylic acid, hydrocarbons, and furan derivatives. Formation of carboxylic acid could be increased by increasing the ratio of plastic waste. A maximum carboxylic acid content of 42.01% was achieved at 50% of plastic waste. Meanwhile, a maximum aliphatic hydrocarbon content of 44.6% was obtained with a ratio of 70:30 of food waste to plastic waste at 350 °C. Overall, pyrolysis of food and plastic waste produced value-added compounds that can be used as biofuels and for a variety of other applications.

Keywords: Bio-oil; Co-pyrolysis; Food waste; Plastic waste; Reaction kinetic.