White cement and burnt brick powder catalyzed pyrolysis of waste polystyrene for production of liquid and gaseous fuels

In this study, two types of clinkered materials were used for the catalytic pyrolysis of wasted polystyrene. The objective of the work was to convert waste into useful resource using low cost but effective catalysts. The wasted polystyrene was used as a feedstock for pyrolysis. The catalytic and noncatalytic pyrolysis were carried out in a custom-made pyrolysis reactor. Optimum conditions for the pyrolysis were investigated by varying the temperature, catalyst amount, and time of reaction. The used catalysts showed notable influence on the progress of pyrolysis reaction as compared with the noncatalyzed reaction. The gaseous fractions, produced during pyrolysis, were analyzed using different chemical tests. The oil fractions were analyzed through gas chromatography mass spectrometry analysis. The oil contained styrene as a major constituent along with some other derivatives of benzene. The oil product was separated into compounds through fractional distillation by generating the distillation profile.