Effect of mixing methods of polyethylene and cellulose on volatile products from its co-pyrolysis

Co-pyrolysis of biomass and plastic wastes is an alternative solution to produce fuel as well as to reduce environmental problem generated from municipal solid waste (MSW). Polyethylene (PE) and cellulose are the main compositions of waste packaging. To produce fuel from these two feedstocks by pyrolysis, the interaction/synergistic effect between them during pyrolysis should be studied. Due to that the interaction should be more pronounced if the two materials are in close contact, the mixing methods of the feedstocks can affect the product yield. In this work, the effect of mixing PE and cellulose on the volatile products from co-pyrolysis was investigated using Py-GC/MS with pyrolysis temperature of 600°C. The different mixing methods used are: mixing by melting (cellulose powder submerged in PE film) and not mixing. The results showed that when PE and cellulose are not mixed the change in products are not significant, only slight increase in acetic acid is observed. When mixed by melting, more oxygenated compounds were produced e.g. higher acetic acid, aliphatic ketones and some pyrans. However, the increases are small and does not significantly affect the main products which are aliphatic hydrocarbons from PE and levoglucosan from cellulose.