Waste Plastics Management:

Conversion to Fuels and Chemicals

Recycling & Managing Plastic WasteMay 30, 2015, New Delhi

CSIR-Indian Institute of PetroleumDehradun- 248005

Creating Future Fuels

Background

CSIR-IIP-GAIL Technology

Creating Future Fuels

Today’s Reality Plastics products have become an integral part of all our lives,

and play an irreplaceable role in our day-to-day activities.

IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO IMAGINE LIFE WITHOUT PLASTICS

Food packaging Agriculture

Health care

Automotive House hold items Electronics

Creating Future Fuels

Waste Plastic disposal problems

• We produce waste having a changed composition and characteristics as the raw materials used

• We loose our non-renewable natural resources

• While disposing, we throw away a lot of material and energy present in waste

• We pollute and poison the environment

Creating Future Fuels

Time for degeneration of waste Generated Waste Time required for degeneration

Organic waste 1-2 weeks

Paper 10 – 30 days

Cotton Cloth 2-5 months

Wood 10 – 15 years

Woolen items 1 year

Metals (tin, aluminum etc) 100 – 500 years

Plastic bags 1 million years ?

Glass bottles Undetermined

Threat Non biodegradable and hence hazardous

Creating Future Fuels

Waste plastics (world scenario)

A significant portion of 150 million tonnes ended as landfill or reached marine environment

Nature, Feb 2013

How big is the plastic problem?

Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch A swirling vortex of garbage the size of a continent where plastic outnumbers plankton

Creating Future Fuels

Waste plastics (Indian scenario)

• Waste plastics generated as part of MSW in 60 major cities ~ 15, 500 TPD

ie ~ 56 lakh TPA

• Waste plastics added everydaywhich lie littered and uncollected

6137 TPD* *(assuming, 60 % of plastics are recycled

Creating Future Fuels

Waste plastics generated in 4 metros (TPD)

“We are sitting on a plastic time bomb"

the Supreme Court of India

Total waste plastics

generated

Uncollected and littered

waste plastics

Delhi 689.5 275.5

Mumbai 408 163.2

Kolkata 425.7 170

Chennai 429.4 171.6

Source CPCB, April 4, 2013, TOI

Creating Future Fuels

Sources of waste plastics

Waste plastics

Post consumer wastePre consumer waste

• Production industry • Process industry

• Municipal solid waste (MSW)• Agriculture wastes•Consumer & demolition waste (CDW)• Waste Electric & Electronic Equipment (WEEE)• End of life of vehicles (ELV)

Creating Future Fuels

Composition of waste plastics from MSW

Polyolefins constitute ~ 65 % of total plastic wastes from MSW

Creating Future Fuels

MSW consists of 7-10 % of waste plastics by weight

Environment friendly

Creating Future Fuels

Hazardous to environment

Most preferred

Least preferred

Waste plastics` management hierarchy

Disposal of waste plastics

• Landfilling– Poisonous compounds leach into the soil and the

water table– Consumes land and renders it useless– Not a permanent solution

• Incineration– Causes production of very harmful gas– No useful products obtained

Creating Future Fuels

• Mechanical Recycling• Recovery of plastic materials• Hazardous to environment

• Chemical Recycling• Turns waste plastics into fuels and chemicals by chemical methods• Potentially feasible solution

Creating Future FuelsRecycling of waste plastics

Creating Future Fuels

Chemical recycling of waste plastics

Crude Oil Naphtha Ethylene/PP Virgin plastics

ConsumersPost consumer waste

Chemical recycling

Worldwide status of technology

• Number of processes developed world wide

• Most of them produce a type of plastic crude oil, whose environmental impact on use is not known

• Require further up gradation to obtain automotive grade fuel

• Some small and medium scale plants are operative in India and other countries claiming to produce transportation fuel, however the available information indicates that these do not meet the stringent specifications of automotive grade fuel

Creating Future Fuels

Background

CSIR-IIP-GAIL Technology

Creating Future Fuels

Diesel (850 ml)+ LPG

Gasoline (700 ml) + LPG

Petrochemicals (500 ml) (Benzene,Tolune, Xylenes) + LPG

1 Kg waste (PE+PP)

CSIR-IIP- GAIL Technology Creating Future Fuels

CSIR-IIP- GAIL TechnologyWaste polyolefins to fuel and

aromatics

SCREW FEEDER

PYROLYZER

FEED (PE/PP)

FR

AC

TIO

NA

TO

R

GAS (C1-C5)

GASOLINE / DIESEL /AROMATICS

CATALYTIC REACTOR

RESIDUE

Process Schematic

Creating Future Fuels

Catalyst 1 Gasoline

Catalyst 2 Diesel

Catalyst 3 Aromatics

• Exclusive production of either gasoline or diesel or aromatics alongwith LPG from polyolefinic wastes (e.g. HDPE, LDPE, PP etc)

• Liquid fuel meet most of Euro III specifications., Aromatics rich in BTX

Waste plastics unit at IIP

- Designed by CSIR-IIP– Capacity

– Batch 3-5 Kg, Continuous 0.3 to 0.4 Kg/hr– Computer controlled (SCADA), Online logging of data– Energy metering

Creating Future Fuels

Waste plastics unit at CSIR-IIP

Unit being inaugurated on 26/9/2010 by Padma Bhushan Shri Shyam Saran

Creating Future Fuels

Gasoline from waste polyolefinsProperties Indian Petrol

Specifications required to meet Euro III norms

Typical gasoline obtained from waste carry bags

Density, Kg/m3 710 - 770 730

Recovery upto 70 oC, % vol

10-45 25

Recovery upto 100oC, % vol

40-70 40

Recovery upto 150oC, % vol

75, min 75

FBP, max 210 210

Residue, max; % vol

2 1

RON/MON 91 min / 81 min 92 / 79

Aromatic content,% vol

42 max 38

Olefinic content, % vol

21 max 10

Creating Future Fuels

Yield of aromatic rich liquid , mass % 41%Yield of gas (C1-C5 gas), mass % 59%

Total aromatics 85% of liquid ( ie 35% of feed by wt)

• Benzene 1.7 % • Toluene 14.5 % • Xylenes 9.8%

Aromatics from waste polyolefinsCreating Future Fuels

Properties Indian Diesel Specifications to meet Euro III norms

Diesel from waste plastics

Density @ 15 oC, Kg/m3

820-845 821

Distillation 95 % vol at oC, max

360 350

Cetane index 46 51

Viscosity @ 40 oC, cst

2.0 – 4.5 2.2

PAH, max; % mass

11 6

Pour Point, oC (Sum:12/win: 6) +3

CFPP, oC (Sum:18/win:6) +6

Flash point 35 >70

Diesel from waste polyolefins Creating Future Fuels

Engine test of diesel obtained from waste plastics

Emissions , g/Km

Creating Future Fuels

440 kW Transient Dynamometer

Engine test of diesel obtained from waste plastics

Fuel consumption Km/litre (Test conditions)

Creating Future Fuels

Test car

Advantages of IIP-GAIL process

– Exclusive production of either gasoline or diesel or aromatics alongwith LPG in the same set up simply by changing the catalyst and process parameters

– Liquid fuel meeting most of Euro III specifications

– Aromatics rich in BTX

– Low carbonaceous residue (depends upon the quality of feed and could be as low as <1 % in the case of waste without fillers and contaminants)

Creating Future Fuels

Approach towards commercialization

• To set up demo units along with State Transport Corporations (STC)/Indian railways etc in diesel mode

• Diesel completely consumed by these bulk consumers

• Indian Railways has in principle agreed to set up plants based on this technology

Creating Future Fuels

Lab scale (2006-2008)

Bench scale (2009-2012)

Pilot plant/Demo unit

Commercial plants

Being set up by IIP

Technology Development – Way Forward Creating Future Fuels

Major interested clients to set up the plants based on IIP technology

• Indian Railway• Mata Vaishnodevi Shrine Board• Numaligarh Refinery , Guwahati• Forbes Accounting &business consultant pvt. Ltd.,

Australia• Yugaset (Pty) Ltd., South Africa • GE Global Research-SABIC, Banglore• Dow Chemical International Private Limited, Mumbai• Kamarhatty Company Limited (Paper Division), Kolkata• Star Group, Satna • Vin Poly Additives Pvt Ltd., New Delhi

Creating Future Fuels

Collection of waste plastics (Informal sector)

- Roadside bins– PET bottles, rubber, metal scarps and thick PE ( > 40 microns), milk cartons, used buckets etc are collected from roadside bins

– Landfill sitesThe remaining MSW reach landfill site and a part of the remaining plastic wastes are collected

- Sorting

Segregation Segregated polyethylene

Creating Future Fuels

Recognition

WINNER3rd National Award for Technology Innovation for 2012-2013

in the category of Innovation in Polymer Waste Management and Recycling Technology

and subcategory of Academics and R & D Institution

for the innovation in Technology to convert waste plastics (polyolefins) to automotive grade

fuel and petrochemicals

Creating Future Fuels

Media CoverageCreating Future Fuels

Further innovation

Waste Plastics

Speciality ProductsWaxes (paraffin,MCW), LOBS, Greases

Chemicals α-olefins, p-xylenes

Creating Future Fuels

Creating Future Fuels

THANK YOU

“Managing plastic waste is a major challenge in terms of environmental protection, but it's also a huge opportunity for resource efficiency. In a circular economy where high recycling rates offer solutions to material scarcity, I believe plastic has a future. I invite all stakeholders to participate in this process of reflection on how to make plastic part of the solution rather than the problem.”

Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik; EU Press release 2013