Niobium Oxide as Catalyst for the Pyrolysis of Polypropylene and Polyethylene Plastic Waste

Abstract

In the present work, the pyrolysis of polypropylene and polyethylene was evaluated with and without the addition of niobium oxide as catalyst by means of thermogravimetric analysis and experiments in a glass reactor. The results revealed that niobium oxide performed well in the pyrolysis of both polypropylene and polyethylene separately. For the mixture of polypropylene with polyethylene, the catalyst reduced the pyrolysis time.