Hydrogen Production from the Pyrolysis-Gasification of Polypropylene: Influence of Steam Flow Rate, Carrier Gas Flow Rate and Gasification Temperature

Hydrogen production from the catalytic pyrolysis-gasification of polypropylene using a two-stage reaction system has been investigated. In this paper, three important process conditions: water flow rate, carrier gas flow rate, and gasification temperature were investigated in relation to hydrogen production. It is suggested that the water flow rate and gasification temperature have a significant influence on hydrogen production from pyrolysis-gasification of polypropylene, whereas the carrier gas flow rate shows little influence. With increasing water flow rate, the gas yield related to the mass of polypropylene increased from 123.6 to 213.9 wt% when the water flow rate was increased from 1.90 to 9.49 g h(-1), then decreased to 195.5 wt% at the water flow rate of 14.20 g h(-1). The hydrogen concentration and the potential hydrogen production also showed the highest yields at the water now rate of 9.49 g h(-1). With increasing gasification temperature, the pyrolysis-gasification of polypropylene seems to be promoted to generate higher yields of gas and hydrogen.