Mechanical Recycling and Thermochemical Conversion of Cross-linked Polyethylene

Abstract

Today, plastics play an important social and economical role in modern society. As the plastics industry develops, the generation of plastics waste continues to grow negatively impacting the environment. Therefore, it is important to find efficient solutions to reduce plastic waste generation. The main objective of this work is to explore the recycling and thermochemical conversion of the low density polyethylene waste (LDPE) which constitutes the majority of plastic wastes in Abu Dhabi Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), United Arab Emirates. To achieve that aim, mechanical recycling and nitrogen pyrolysis of Silane Cross-linked Polyethylene waste (Si-XLPE), generated at a significant amount from a major cable industry Ducab Inc. in Abu Dhabi, are conducted. Mechanical recycling is achieved by mixing different proportions (5 wt%, 10 wt%, and 15 wt %) of the Si-XLPE waste with virgin LDPE using extrusion and followed by mechanical testing and plastic material modeling investigation. The mechanical recycling results demonstrate that the infusion of Si-XLPE into LDPE increases the strength and the thermal stability of LDPE to be reused in electric cable insulation applications. Results also illustrate that multilinear plastic material modeling is better fit for representing the LDPE material model than the bilinear model. Moreover, nitrogen pyrolysis is carried out in a batch autoclave reactor under pertaining temperature and pressure conditions, followed by the analysis of the produced liquid oil and gases. The produced oil and gases, consisting mainly of alkanes and alkenes with high calorific value, can potentially be used as energy sources and substitutes for petroleum-based feedstock in the petrochemical industry.

Date of Award	2011
Original language	American English
Supervisor	Isam Janajreh (Supervisor)