CATALYTIC DEGRADATION OF HIGH DENSITY POLYETHYLENE USING ZEOLITES

Plastic wastes, which cause a serious environmental problem in urban areas, can serve as sources of energy. Catalytic treatment of High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) has shown that the degradation of HDPE resulted in the production of a stream of gaseous hydrocarbons varied in the range C₁-C₈. The degradation was carried out using diluted forms of zeolites ZSM-5, USY and Mordenite (MORD) using a fluidized bed reactor (FBR). Effect of coke formation on the activity of the catalysts was screened by thermogravimettric (TGA). ZSM-5 showed a significant resistance to deactivation because of the nature of its small pore size compared with USY and MORD.