DOI: https://doi.org/10.61435/ijred.2025.60569

Induction heating pyrolysis of landfilled plastic waste into valuable hydrocarbon fuels

1Rattanakosin College for Sustainable Energy and Environment, Rajamangala University of Technology Rattanakosin, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand

2Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Bangkok, Thailand

3Department of Environmental and Sustainable Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand

4 Energy Research Institute, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand

5 Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Bangkok,, Thailand

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Received: 16 Aug 2024; Revised: 18 Dec 2024; Accepted: 17 Jan 2025; Available online: 23 Feb 2025; Published: 1 Mar 2025.
Editor(s): H Hadiyanto
Open Access Copyright (c) 2025 The Author(s). Published by Centre of Biomass and Renewable Energy (CBIORE)
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Abstract

This research investigated the pyrolysis process for plastic waste treatment using induction heating. The induction system involved a coil wrapped around insulated material to generate heat. The plastic waste was sourced from the Refuse-Derived Fuel (RDF) sorting process from a 15-year-old landfill in the province of Nonthaburi, Thailand. The pyrolysis was performed at temperatures ranging from 400 to 600°C with a batch reactor. The highest yield of pyrolysis oil was 27.6% wt. at 600°C. Energy consumption for converting plastic waste into oil ranged between 9.50 and 13.36 kWh, with the highest consumption at 600 °C. The produced pyrolysis oil at 600°C achieved the highest HHV of 41.33 MJ/kg. The GC/MS analysis of the pyrolysis oil revealed an increase in aromatic and hydrocarbons (C5-C11 and C12-C20) with rising temperature. These carbon fractions are suitable replacements for heavy oil or diesel fuel, as low-oxygenated compounds, and hydrocarbon content in pyrolysis oil are desirable. The amount of char produced at 400°C was the highest, with a yield that ranged from 45.2% wt. to 67.0% wt. Moreover, the pyrolysis process has a significant advantage in lowering greenhouse gas emissions (0.21–0.25% vol.), which releases less CO2 than the combustion of plastic waste. The findings therefore suggest that pyrolysis oil, which is produced under optimum conditions, can be used as a substitute liquid fuel in the industrial sector, and is consistent with the circular economy's concepts, promoting sustainability and utilizing resource efficiency.

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Keywords: Induction heating; Pyrolysis process; Plastic waste; RDF
Funding: Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Bangkok, Thailand,King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Research Fund Grant number KREF186708"

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Section: Original Research Article
Language : EN
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