Study of the Kinetics of Thermal Destruction of Crossed Polyethylene

Abstract

This paper presents a study of the process of thermal degradation of crosslinked polyethylene. The kinetics of polymer decomposition was studied by thermogravimetry. Crosslinked polyethylene showed high heat resistance to temperatures of 400 °C. The temperature range of 430–500 °C was determined for the loss of the bulk of the sample. According to thermogravimetric data, the decomposition process proceeds in a single stage and includes a large number of fracture, cyclization, dehydrogenation, and other reactions. The process of pyrolysis of a crosslinked polymer in a stationary-bed metal reactor was investigated. The influence of the process temperature on the yield of solid, liquid, and gaseous pyrolysis products was investigated. The optimum process temperature was 500 °C. At this temperature, the yield of liquid and gaseous products was 85.0 and 12.5% (mass.), Respectively. Samples of crosslinked polyester decomposed almost completely. The amount of carbon–containing residue was 3.5% by weight of the feedstock. With increasing temperature, the yield of liquid products decreased slightly and the yield of gaseous products increased, but their total yield did not increase. For gaseous products, a qualitative and quantitative composition was determined. The main components of the pyrolysis gas were hydrocarbons C1–C4. The calorific value of pyrolysis gas obtained at a temperature of 500 °C was 17 MJ/m3. Thus, the pyrolysis process can be used to process crosslinked polyethylene wastes to produce liquid hydrocarbons and combustible gases.