Pyrolysis and catalytic reforming of disposable plastic waste for syngas production with adjustable H2/CO ratio

The gasification technology has shown great potential to upcycle plastic waste for clean and high-value fuel. Gasification of disposable plastic masks was investigated in a two-stage pyrolysis-catalytic reforming system, aiming at producing the syngas with flexible H 2 to CO ratio which can be tuned for various downstream applications without further purification and adjustment. To maximize the syngas yield and minimize the carbon deposition, different gasifying agents in the staged catalytic process was explored. The results showed that CO 2 significantly promoted syngas production mainly by increasing CO yield. However, H 2 -rich syngas was obtained via using steam as the gasifying agent. Competitive and synergistic relationships between CO 2 and H 2 O agent at co-feeding process were further revealed. CO 2 facilitated the reforming of H 2 O at low dose of steam while exhibiting a main competition with adequate steam except for synergy at 5 mL/min CO 2 flow rate. An optimum H 2 -rich syngas yield of 135.59 mmol/g plastic with H 2 /CO ratio of 2 was obtained at co-feeding reactants. Therefore, the co-feeding of H 2 O and CO 2 could show positive effect for both coke removal and syngas quality regulation. Results found in this work increased the overall operational flexibility and economy of pyrolysis and catalytic reforming of plastic waste.