Characterization of the liquid product recovered through pyrolysis of PMMA–ABS waste

Thermal decomposition of waste polymethylmethacrylate–acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene (PMMA–ABS) blend has been carried out using analytical and lab-scale pyrolysis methods in order to identify the substantial components appearing in the liquid product. Additionally decomposition characteristics of the blend have been investigated regarding the possible interrelation between the two components during the pyrolysis. The interactions between PMMA and ABS seem to modify the decomposition characteristics of the ABS, resulting in a lower degradation temperature than that of pure ABS. Moreover the simultaneous decomposition results in recombination of the products yielding new volatile compounds. During batch pyrolysis relatively high amount of gas production was observed, that is in contradiction with the results obtained by analytical pyrolysis and the data found in the literature where pyrolysis of the PMMA as well as the ABS was reported to yield low amount of gas products. The liquid product retrieved from thermal decomposition has been analyzed with respect to the possible utilization as a propellant. Hence aside from the investigation of contained elements and compounds, determination of density, viscosity, research octane number (RON), calorific value, and gaseous emissions has been carried out as well. The relatively high yield (65 wt%), and outstanding compression tolerance (RON = 110.2) observed at the pyrolysis oil make it a feasible fuel admixture.