Study of the gases obtained in thermal and catalytic flash pyrolysis of HDPE in a fluidized bed reactor

A fluidized bed reactor was used to study the production of gases from the thermal and catalytic pyrolysis of high-density polyethylene (HDPE). The effect of the bed temperature and type of catalyst was evaluated. The range of operating temperature was from 400 to 800 °C. The catalysts used in this study were HZSM-5 and HUSY in a proportion of 20% by weight. The analysis of the volatile compounds showed that the main products obtained with both catalysts were similar, but the amount of gases produced with HZSM-5 was higher than the amount obtained with HUSY. The major compounds obtained with both catalysts were C3 and C4 hydrocarbons (propane, propene, trans-butene, 1-butene, isobutene and cis-2-butene) and C5 olefins (1-pentene).