Recent Advances on Waste Plastic Thermal Pyrolysis: A Critical Overview

Osman Y. Yansaneh, Sharif H. Zein

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

42 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Post-consumer plastic management, otherwise termed waste plastic (WP) management, is a great challenge in today’s world, mainly because of its characteristic biodegradation properties. The quantity of waste plastics correspondingly increases with the increase in demand for plastic use. Research has shown that this demand increases yearly. Most of these waste plastics include high-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polystyrene (PS). Potentially, these wastes are a wealth, and studies have explored that pyrolysis is a reputable mechanism to accomplish this. In this critical review, an extensive investigation on waste plastics thermal pyrolysis (WPTP) is carried out. The factors that affect the product’s yield and selectivity are discussed, and a comparative quality guarantee of WPTP is examined. This paper presents an assurance into the current findings of WPTP and reveals some common gaps and misconceptions surrounding this field, which are recommendable towards the support of further research work. The significant role of co-pyrolysis of plastics with biomass in this field is also emphasised, and a glimpse into the influence of mixed waste plastics in pyrolysis is presented.

Original languageEnglish
Article number332
JournalProcesses
Volume10
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2022
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The first author, Osman Yusifu Yansaneh, wishes to acknowledge the Common-wealth Scholarships Commission for their continued sponsorship in his studies. Appreciations go to the University of Hull also for partnering in sponsoring his programme.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

  • Bioengineering
  • Chemical Engineering (miscellaneous)
  • Process Chemistry and Technology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Recent Advances on Waste Plastic Thermal Pyrolysis: A Critical Overview'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this