Investigating the Pyrolysis of Polyethylene Terephthalate and Poplar Wood in the Presence of Zeolite Catalyst to Convert it into Liquid Fuel

In this work, the effect of zeolite catalyst on the pyrolysis process of polyethylene terephthalate and poplar wood was investigated. For this aim, 15 grams of sample was loaded in a laboratory-sized reactor and pyrolyzed at 500°C under atmospheric pressure. The results showed that zeolite catalyst can change the characteristics of manufactured products. In the case of gaseous products, the catalyst reduced the amount of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. The results of the liquid product analysis showed that light aromatics such as benzene and xylene and light linear compounds such as alkanes including octane, hexadecane and heptane, etc. Liquid was available. By adding the zeolite catalyst to the reaction medium, the amounts of the mentioned compounds changed significantly. For example, the amount of alkanes decreased. The results of the analyzes showed that the catalyst had almost no effect on wax formation. Analysis of poplar wood, polyethylene terephthalate and char samples produced in thermal and catalytic pyrolysis showed that the two samples had similar properties, but the difference in intensity in the characteristics of different bands showed different numbers of chemical operating groups in the char samples. Analysis of the catalysts showed that due to the small increase in carbon content, it can be concluded that a very small amount of coke sat on the catalyst.