Plastic pyrolysis equipment solves white pollution

As a key piece of equipment for addressing the plastic pollution crisis, waste plastic pyrolysis equipment is becoming increasingly important in the current environmental landscape. Pyrolysis machines can effectively process waste plastics and are a vivid example of the transition from pyrolysis technology to plastic recycling.

Pyrolysis equipment plays a central role in the treatment of waste plastics, transforming waste plastics from "white pollution" to "green resources."

Currently, there are three main pyrolysis methods for converting waste plastics into fuel: thermal cracking, catalytic thermal cracking, and thermal cracking-catalytic modification.

Pyrolysis is the most basic waste plastic pyrolysis process and the earliest method used for waste plastics treatment. Its process is relatively simple: waste plastics are placed in a pyrolysis reactor. In an oxygen-free or low-oxygen environment, high temperatures are generated by heating and temperature control devices, breaking down the plastic's macromolecular chains.

The advantages of thermal cracking are low investment and a simple process, without the need for complex equipment or expensive catalysts. However, its disadvantages are also significant: high cracking reaction temperatures, long reaction times, and low production efficiency.

Second, catalytic pyrolysis is developed based on the pyrolysis of waste plastics. Catalysts, such as solid aluminum silicate, molecular sieves, and other solid acid catalysts, are added to the pyrolysis process. These catalysts act as accelerators for chemical reactions, reducing the activation energy required and enabling reactions to proceed rapidly at lower temperatures.

Under the action of the catalyst, the plastic undergoes reactions such as cracking, hydrogen transfer, and condensation, generating products within a certain range of relative molecular weights and structures, which are then separated. Compared to pyrolysis of waste plastics, catalytic pyrolysis offers the advantages of faster reaction rates and lower energy consumption.

Third, pyrolysis-catalytic modification combines pyrolysis and catalytic pyrolysis, also known as a two-stage process. In the first stage, waste plastics are pyrolyzed at high temperatures, producing pyrolysis gas and some primary products. The pyrolysis gas then enters the second stage, catalytic modification, where further reactions occur under the action of the catalyst, improving product quality.

The advantage of the pyrolysis-catalytic modification process is its operational flexibility. Batch pyrolysis units can process mixed waste plastics at relatively low operating costs. Catalytic reforming of pyrolysis gas can improve the content and quality of light fractions such as gasoline and diesel.

Although pyrolysis technology demonstrates significant potential for waste plastics processing, global awareness of the technology remains low, presenting a significant barrier to its widespread application.