Classifications

• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C10—PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; PEAT
  • C10G—CRACKING HYDROCARBON OILS; PRODUCTION OF LIQUID HYDROCARBON MIXTURES, e.g. BY DESTRUCTIVE HYDROGENATION, OLIGOMERISATION, POLYMERISATION; RECOVERY OF HYDROCARBON OILS FROM OIL-SHALE, OIL-SAND, OR GASES; REFINING MIXTURES MAINLY CONSISTING OF HYDROCARBONS; REFORMING OF NAPHTHA; MINERAL WAXES
  • C10G1/00—Production of liquid hydrocarbon mixtures from oil-shale, oil-sand, or non-melting solid carbonaceous or similar materials, e.g. wood, coal
  • C10G1/10—Production of liquid hydrocarbon mixtures from oil-shale, oil-sand, or non-melting solid carbonaceous or similar materials, e.g. wood, coal from rubber or rubber waste
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C10—PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; PEAT
  • C10L—FUELS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NATURAL GAS; SYNTHETIC NATURAL GAS OBTAINED BY PROCESSES NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C10G, C10K; LIQUEFIED PETROLEUM GAS; ADDING MATERIALS TO FUELS OR FIRES TO REDUCE SMOKE OR UNDESIRABLE DEPOSITS OR TO FACILITATE SOOT REMOVAL; FIRELIGHTERS
  • C10L1/00—Liquid carbonaceous fuels
  • C10L1/04—Liquid carbonaceous fuels essentially based on blends of hydrocarbons
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C10—PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; PEAT
  • C10L—FUELS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NATURAL GAS; SYNTHETIC NATURAL GAS OBTAINED BY PROCESSES NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C10G, C10K; LIQUEFIED PETROLEUM GAS; ADDING MATERIALS TO FUELS OR FIRES TO REDUCE SMOKE OR UNDESIRABLE DEPOSITS OR TO FACILITATE SOOT REMOVAL; FIRELIGHTERS
  • C10L2200/00—Components of fuel compositions
  • C10L2200/04—Organic compounds
  • C10L2200/0461—Fractions defined by their origin
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C10—PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; PEAT
  • C10L—FUELS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NATURAL GAS; SYNTHETIC NATURAL GAS OBTAINED BY PROCESSES NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C10G, C10K; LIQUEFIED PETROLEUM GAS; ADDING MATERIALS TO FUELS OR FIRES TO REDUCE SMOKE OR UNDESIRABLE DEPOSITS OR TO FACILITATE SOOT REMOVAL; FIRELIGHTERS
  • C10L2270/00—Specifically adapted fuels
  • C10L2270/02—Specifically adapted fuels for internal combustion engines
  • C10L2270/023—Specifically adapted fuels for internal combustion engines for gasoline engines
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C10—PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; PEAT
  • C10L—FUELS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NATURAL GAS; SYNTHETIC NATURAL GAS OBTAINED BY PROCESSES NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C10G, C10K; LIQUEFIED PETROLEUM GAS; ADDING MATERIALS TO FUELS OR FIRES TO REDUCE SMOKE OR UNDESIRABLE DEPOSITS OR TO FACILITATE SOOT REMOVAL; FIRELIGHTERS
  • C10L2270/00—Specifically adapted fuels
  • C10L2270/02—Specifically adapted fuels for internal combustion engines
  • C10L2270/026—Specifically adapted fuels for internal combustion engines for diesel engines, e.g. automobiles, stationary, marine
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C10—PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; PEAT
  • C10L—FUELS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NATURAL GAS; SYNTHETIC NATURAL GAS OBTAINED BY PROCESSES NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C10G, C10K; LIQUEFIED PETROLEUM GAS; ADDING MATERIALS TO FUELS OR FIRES TO REDUCE SMOKE OR UNDESIRABLE DEPOSITS OR TO FACILITATE SOOT REMOVAL; FIRELIGHTERS
  • C10L2290/00—Fuel preparation or upgrading, processes or apparatus therefore, comprising specific process steps or apparatus units
  • C10L2290/54—Specific separation steps for separating fractions, components or impurities during preparation or upgrading of a fuel
  • C10L2290/543—Distillation, fractionation or rectification for separating fractions, components or impurities during preparation or upgrading of a fuel
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C10—PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; PEAT
  • C10L—FUELS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NATURAL GAS; SYNTHETIC NATURAL GAS OBTAINED BY PROCESSES NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C10G, C10K; LIQUEFIED PETROLEUM GAS; ADDING MATERIALS TO FUELS OR FIRES TO REDUCE SMOKE OR UNDESIRABLE DEPOSITS OR TO FACILITATE SOOT REMOVAL; FIRELIGHTERS
  • C10L2290/00—Fuel preparation or upgrading, processes or apparatus therefore, comprising specific process steps or apparatus units
  • C10L2290/54—Specific separation steps for separating fractions, components or impurities during preparation or upgrading of a fuel
  • C10L2290/547—Filtration for separating fractions, components or impurities during preparation or upgrading of a fuel

Definitions

• the present invention relates to methods for the conversion of waste plastic to lower molecular weight hydrocarbon materials, particularly valuable hydrocarbon materials such as hydrocarbon fuel materials.
• the present invention relates in particular to the decomposition of hydrocarbon polymers of waste plastics, which have a high molecular weights (long carbon chain lengths), to lower molecular weight hydrocarbons, particularly to hydrocarbons in the gasoline range (C 7 to C 11 hydrocarbons) or to hydrocarbons in the diesel fuel range (somewhat higher carbon chain length).
• hydrocarbon fuels gasoline, diesel and the like
• thermal, decompositions of waste plastic followed by separation and collection of the fuel product, is known, and has been known for decades.
• Pre-decomposition sorting and identification of the waste plastics is also well known.
• bio-fuels crop-plant biomass fuels
• wind generators have inherent drawbacks, including without limitation (a) the diversion of crop-producing resources (including arable land) from food production to fuel production, (b) the re-engineering of machinery that is often required in order to run on bio-fuels and (c) the harmful penetration into air spaces normally inhabited almost exclusively by our bird population and the documented incidents of devastation of bird populations, particularly when windmills and the like are placed along major migratory routes.
• the present invention provides a method in which plastic, particularly waste plastic, is melted (including by heating to form a liquid slurry (thermal liquification)), and then distilled, optionally in the presence of a cracking catalyst, wherein the distillate is condensed and recovered as a condensate, which condensate is functionally a liquid hydrocarbon fuel.
• the present invention also includes the material produced by the present method.
• the present process broadly comprises the steps of (1) melting waste plastics in the presence, or absence, of a cracking catalyst, (2) followed by volatilization and distillation, and then (3) condensation, and optionally further refinement of the condensate by filtration, which may be followed by subsequent distillation(s) of the filtrate.
• the present process includes a split process which comprises the steps of: (a) uncatalyzed thermal liquification (melting, decomposition) of shredded plastic in a closed furnace without an inert gas blanket, which produces a slurry; (b) partial cooling of the slurry; (c) addition of a cracking catalyst to the slurry; (d) transfer of the still-hot, catalyst-containing slurry to a distillation and condensation unit; (e) heating of the slurry in the condensation unit to emit volatile material therefrom; (f) condensing the volatiles and recovering them in a separate receptacle; and (g) preferably routing the slurry residue (portion not volatilized) back into a fresh batch of slurry (which then undergoes another catalyzed distillation/condensation process).
• the split process of liquification, condensation and distillation process to recover liquid fuel-range hydrocarbons is distinctively simple.
• the present process includes a basic process which comprises the steps of: (A) heating shredded plastic in a vessel open to a condensation unit, without an gas blanket, in the presence, or absence, of a cracking catalyst, through the stages of melting and then vaporization, (B) condensing the vapor in the condensation unit and (C) collection of the condensate produced, optionally followed by filtration and at least one subsequent re-distillation.
• the basic process of heating through vaporization (melting and vaporizing), distillation and condensation to recover liquid fuel-range hydrocarbons is even more distinctively simple.
• the distillation may be a fractional distillation, but in preferred embodiments it is a simple distillation.
• the HZSM-5 Zeolite or other efficient cracking catalyst used subsequently is a readily-available conventional catalyst. Slurry residues after the distillation and condensation step are routed back into one or more other slurries and reprocessed. Since the catalyst remains in the residue, it is available for reuse when the residue is routed back to fresh batches of slurry, and it preferably is not otherwise subject to recovery efforts. (The HZSM-5 Zeolite or other efficient cracking catalyst is also the catalyst used in the basic-process process of the present invention when that process is catalyzed.)
• the present process is believed capable of being used with all types of waste plastics, including without limitation thermoplastic and thermoset waste plastics, and combinations of types of plastics.
• the types of plastics commonly encountered in waste-plastic feedstock include, without limitation, low-density polyethylene, high-density polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyethylene terephthalate and the like.
• Plastics are polymers which are often modified or compounded with additives (including colorants) to form useful materials.
• the compounded product is generally itself is called and considered a plastic.
• plastic as used herein includes both modified (compounded) and unmodified plastic.
• Thermoplastic polymers can be heated and formed, then heated and formed again and again.
• the shape of the polymer molecules are generally linear or slightly branched, whereby the molecules can flow under pressure when heated above their melting point.
• Thermoset polymers undergo a chemical change when they are heated, creating a three-dimensional network. After they are heated and formed, these molecules cannot be re-heated and re-formed.
• Code 1 is polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is often used for carbonated beverage and water containers, and some waterproof packaging.
• Code 2 is high-density polyethylene, which is often used for milk, detergent and oil bottles, toys and plastic bags. HDPE naturally translucent.
• Code 3 is vinyl/polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which is often used for food wrap, vegetable oil bottles, blister packages. It is naturally clear. PVC contains bonded chlorine atoms which, upon degradation of the polymer, must be separated and particularly handled.
• Code 4 is low-density polyethylene, which is often used for plastic bags, shrink wrap, and garment bags. It is chemically similar to HDPE but it is less dense and more flexible. Most polyethylene film is made from LDPE.
• Code 5 is polypropylene, which is often used for refrigerated containers, plastic bags, bottle tops, and at times for carpets and certain food wrap materials.
• Code 6 is polystyrene, which is often used for disposable utensils, meat packing and protective packing materials.
• Code 7 includes layered or mixed plastic, or fairly common plastics used in packaging which do not lend themselves well to mechanical recycling such as polycarbonate (PC) and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS). There are many plastics which do not fit into the numbering system that identifies plastics used in consumer containers. There are thousands of different varieties of plastics, or mixtures of plastics, which have been, and continue to be, developed to suit the needs of particular products.
• waste plastics are collected, optionally sorted by the type of plastic, cleaned of contaminants and, when required or preferred, cut or otherwise divided into smaller pieces prior to subjecting the plastic to the process of the present invention.
• the waste plastic Prior to thermal liquification, the waste plastic is collected, cleaned of contaminants, and at times sorted by the type of plastic.
• the sorting may include not only the sorting by the type of plastic but also sorting by the type of fillers used therein.
• the present process does not, however, exclude the use of an indiscrimate plastic feedstock, i.e., random accumulations of waste plastic, rather than groups of the same or similar plastics.
• the plastics may be identified by any stamped American Plastic Council recycle codes (currently PETE 1, HDPE 2, PVC 3, LDPE 4, PP 5, PS 6), and where a recycle code is not available, by (a) appearance, thickness and other observable characteristics and/or (b) instrumental analysis.
• thermo gravimetric analysis an on-set temperature characteristic of the sample which is useful for the selection of the thermal liquification temperature.
• the thermal liquification of waste plastics is carried out using plastic which has been cleaned of all non-plastic material (paper labels, contaminants etc.) and cut or otherwise divided into pieces of from about 0.5 to about 1.5 cm 2 in size.
• the weight of the plastic pieces processed in a single batch typically ranges from about 25 to 125 grams depending on the thickness and density of the plastic pieces, and the size of crucible used (250 ml, 500 ml and 600 ml crucibles being most commonly used).
• the temperatures used for the liquification depends on the melting onset of the plastics, as determined by its Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) graph, thickness of the plastic pieces and whether the plastics are thermoplastics or thermoset plastics.
• TGA Thermogravimetric Analysis
• the final (high) temperature in the liquification step is typically within the range of from about 370 to about 420° C. (internal furnace temperature), reached with a ramping rate of from about 5 to about 10° C. per minute, and a hold or dwell time at the final (high) temperature of from about 20 or 30 minutes to about 60 minutes.
• the liquification is carried out in a closed heating chamber equipped with appropriate controls for monitoring and controlling the temperature and time.
• the time elapsed to reach the final (high) temperature is typically from about 30 to about 40 minutes, depending on the ramping rate, and the size and thickness of the plastic pieces and crucible used.
• the cooling rate is typically about 1.2° C.
• the total liquification step can take from about 2 to about 2.5 hours.
• the liquification is conducted in laboratory-scale examples in a closed-chamber muffle furnace in a covered crucible, in the presence of a normal air atmosphere (rather than a blanket of inert gas and the like) and under ambient air pressure. No catalysts or other chemicals are used in the thermal liquification step.
• the catalyzed distillation and condensation step is a simple (not fractional or vacuum) distillation and condensation, carried out under ambient air pressure, using the expedient of a cracking catalyst in the slurry.
• the distillation/condensation is generally conducted until the residual slurry becomes too overly viscous for the continuance of the procedure.
• Waste plastics consisting of the body of a used one-gallon plastic milk bottle and a portion of the body of a used plastic liquid soap container were selected as the samples.
• the caps of these containers were not included.
• the milk bottle was made of HDPE with an included colorant.
• the liquid soap container was made of HDPE.
• the loaded and covered crucible was placed in a programmable Barnstead/Thermolyte F6000 muffle furnace, model F6038CM, which is commercially available from Barnstead/Thermolyte Corp. of Dubuque, Iowa, which was positioned under a standard laboratory gas (fume) hood.
• the furnace was set at an initial temperature of 35° C. and programmed for a target/final temperature of 420° C., ramping rate of 10° C. per minute, and a hold or dwell time of 20 minutes at final temperature.
• the time versus temperature was recorded, and the elapsed times and rates determined therefrom are set forth in Table 1 below.
• the slurry was then poured into a 1000 ml double neck round bottom boiling flask. Since this laboratory-scale transfer technique does not approach a quantitative transferred to the round-bottom flask was determined by weight differential (weight of the flask and slurry less the flask's empty weight) to be 69.9 grams. Here the amount of slurry left clinging to the apparatus was also determined by weight differential to be about 4.3 grams in the crucible, about 3.8 grams in the funnel, and about 0.7 grams on the spoon, which in combination equals the 8.8 grams determined above to be lost in the transfer.
• an HZSM-5 Zeolite cracking catalyst which is commercially available from Sigma-Aldrich, was added to the slurry in the amount of about 0.7 grams (1.0 wt. percent) and the flask containing the now catalyzed slurry was placed in a heating mantle whereat, after cleaning and greasing (with high vacuum grease) the glass joints, a cold-water cooled condenser (connected to a water circulator) was mounted onto the flask, and the second neck of the flask was covered with a puncture-vented Parafilm.
• the flask-mounted or upright condenser opened to a second water-cooled condenser mounted in a downwardly-sloped position which emptied its condensed fluid into a collection vessel.
• a 600 mm long Liebig condenser water-cooled concentric straight-tube vapor condenser
• a 400 mm long Graham condenser water-cooled spiral tube vapor condenser
• the water temperature of the circulator was set at 20° C.
• plastic samples of several plastic types and combinations of plastics were converted to liquid slurries as the first step in their conversion to fuel-range type of liquid hydrocarbons.
• the identification of the plastic in each sample, the original sample weight (W1) in grams, the resultant slurry weight (W2) in grams and slurry yield Y1 in percentage (W2/W1 ⁇ 100) for each Sample are set forth below in Table 2.
• the samples identified as a “Group” is a reference to a type of non-coded plastic characterized by observation and the like. The group characteristics are listed in Table 5 below. Sample 10 was, as indicated, taken from a black plastic hanger of unknown plastic type.
• the designation “b.bin” in the identification of the plastic of Samples 38-42 refers to the source of the plastic sample, which was a garbage bin.
• the losses to volatilization (such as the escape of low molecular weight hydrocarbons) during the slurry-formation step reflected in the yields seen in Table 2 are preferably captured and recovered, although such a step was not implemented in this Example 2.
• the amount of old slurry (W3) is greater than the amount of the recovered post-condensation slurry (W5), and therefore the decreased net residual slurry establishes both that (a) some amount of residual hydrocarbon was present in the old slurry, and (b) some amount of such residual hydrocarbon was distilled.
• old slurries are recurrently recycled back into the process, by adding them to fresh slurries prior to their introduction to the catalyzed distillation/condensation step, until the approach of slurry exhaustion or the point at which a residual slurry contains so high a proportion on non-hydrocarbon material that its discard or other use is more reasonable.
• the condensate contains lesser concentrations of aromatics (benzene, toluene, styrene, xylene, naphthalene and the like) than automotive gasoline and further, unlike gasoline, the condensate contains no sulfur from which can be derived harmful sulfur dioxide emissions.
• the amount of material lost as a vapor was calculated by subtracting the combined weights of the residue and condensate from the weight of the waste-plastic sample used.
• Table 8 Set forth in Table 8 below are: the type and proportion of plastic(s) in each sample (explained further below); the original plastic sample weight (“Ws”) in grams; the resultant condensate weight (“Wc”) in grams, condensate volume (“Vc”) in milliliters, and condensate density (“Dc”) in grams per milliliter; the resultant residue weight (“Wr”) in grams; the weight lost as gaseous material (“W ⁇ ”) in grams; the condensate yield (“Yc”) in weight percent (Wc/Ws ⁇ 100); the gaseous-material loss yield Y ⁇ in weight percent (W ⁇ /Ws ⁇ 100); and the adjusted condensate yield (“Ya”) in weight percent (Wc/(Ws ⁇ Wr) ⁇ 100).
• sample mixtures of plastics are identified in Table 8: by whether they were non-coded (“nc”) or coded (“c”) plastics or a mixture of non-coded and coded (“nc,c”) plastics; by whether they were a random (“r”) mixture of the different plastics (that is, in unspecified proportions) or an equal (equal proportion) (“ep”) mixture (namely, in equal amounts by weight) or a single (“s”) type of plastic; and, for coded plastics, the identification of the plastic or plastic mixture (“Mix”) by the “mix” identification, namely, “mix-1” is a mixture of HDPE2 and PS6; and “mix-2” is a mixture of LDPE4, HDPE2, PP5 and PS6.
• the plastic mixture of Sample 48 is identified as “c/ep mix-2” which means that the plastic was coded plastic of the four mix-2 plastics used in equal amounts, and since a total of 200 grams of plastic was used, the table data informs that 50 grams of each mix-2 plastic was used. When a single coded plastic was used, that plastic is identified by its abbreviation in the “Mix” column. Also identified in Table 8 below is whether or not a cracking catalyst was used, with “y” indicating that yes a catalyst was used and “n” indicating that no a catalyst was not used, both in the “Cat.” Column.
• Table 8a shows the identifications of the Variac parameters as to process-start point (in percentage of the Variac range) and as to heating-mantle temperatures provided therewith, in ° C., at the start of the process (“Start T.”), at the optimum point of the process (“Optimum T.”, which is 70% of the Variac setting in all instances) and at the completion of the process (“End T.”, which is 95% of the Variac setting in all instances except Sample #37 in which it was 90% and Samples #35, 36, 55-66, 71 and 73-75 in which it was 100%) for each sample, and the characteristics of heating mantle used (“Mantle”), namely: a one liter heating mantle which had a heating temperature range of from 0° to 450° C.; a five liter heating mantle which had a heating temperature range of from 0° to 650° C.; and a twelve liter heating mantle which had a heating temperature range of from 0° to
• the amount of material lost as a vapor was calculated by subtracting the combined weights of the residue and condensate from the weight of the waste-plastic sample used.
• Table 9 below are: the type and proportion of plastic(s) in each sample (explained further below); the original plastic sample weight (“Ws”) in grams; the resultant condensate weight (“Wc”) in grams, condensate volume (“Vc”) in milliliters, and condensate density (“Dc”) in grams per milliliter; the resultant residue weight (“Wr”) in grams; the weight lost as gaseous material (“W ⁇ ”) in grams; the condensate yield (“Yc”) in weight percent (Wc/Ws ⁇ 100); the gaseous-material loss yield Y ⁇ in weight percent (W ⁇ /Ws ⁇ 100); and the adjusted condensate yield (“Ya”) in weight percent (Wc/(Ws ⁇ Wr) ⁇ 100).
• sample mixtures of plastics are identified in Table 8: by whether they were or coded (“c”) plastics or, in one instance, a polybag; by whether they were a random (“r”) mixture of the different plastics (that is, in unspecified proportions) or an unequally-proportioned (“u”) mixture (namely, in known but unequal amounts by weight; and, for coded plastics, the identification of the plastic or plastic mixture (“Mix”) by the “mix” identification, namely “mix-1” is a mixture of HDPE2 and PS6; and “mix-2” is a mixture of LDPE4, HDPE2, PP5 and PS6.
• the plastic mixture of Sample 11 is identified as “c/r mix-2” which means that the plastic was coded plastic of the four mix-2 plastics used in random proportions.
• the proportions used in the “c/u” mixtures are identified after Table 9a below. Also identified in Table 9 below is whether or not a cracking catalyst was used, with “y” indicating that yes a catalyst was used, in the “Cat.” Column.
• Table Table 9a shows the identifications of the Variac parameters as to start, middle, optimum and end points (“start-end” in percentage of the Variac range) and as to heating-mantle temperatures used therewith, in ° C., at the start of the process (“Start T.”), at the middle of the process (“Middle T.”), at the optimum point of the process (“Optimum T.”) and at the completion of the process (“End T.”) for each sample, and the characteristics of heating mantle used (“Mantle”), namely: a one liter heating mantle which had a heating temperature range of from 0° to 450° C.; a five liter heating mantle which had a heating temperature range of from 0° to 650° C.; and a twelve liter heating mantle which had a heating temperature range of from 0° to 950° C.
• the samples in Table 9a are the same as those of Table 9.
• a sample of a condensate of the present invention produced by the process described in Examples 1 and 2 above was filtered and then, to obtain a double-distilled condensate, was taken through a second distillation/condensation process.
• the condensate sample after filtration, was dark brown in color, and had a density of 0.77 g/ml.
• a measured amount, namely 750 ml. (575 grams) of the filtered condensate was placed in a boiling flask, distilled and the condensate therefrom was collected in a first and a second collection flask (first and second “collections”).
• the first collection which was a collection of 400 ml. of double-distilled condensate, took about one hour, thirty minutes.
• the second collection which was a collection of 309 ml. of double-distilled condensate, took about two hours.
• the yield of the combined double-distilled condensates ((400+309)/750 ⁇ 100) was 94.5%.
• a one ml. from each collection was subjected to a flame test in which it was exposed to a live flame, and its ignition and burn characteristics were noted and recorded. The characteristics of each collection, including the results of the flame tests, are set forth below in Table 10.
• a sample of double-distilled condensate of the present invention was tested as a liquid automotive fuel by comparing its performance, in terms of mileage (miles-per-gallon, or mpg, output) and exhaust emissions, with that of a commercial grade of automotive gasoline.
• the automotive vehicle used to conduct this comparison was a 1984 Oldsmobile passenger vehicle (“car”) equipped with a V-8 engine, which had an odometer-mileage (number of miles car had already driven) of 29,002.6 at the start of the tests.
• the tests of Example 11 and Comparative Example 12 were conducted as follows.
• the odometer read 29020.6 miles, which indicated that the car had been driven 18.0 miles on the one gallon double-distilled condensate of the present invention.
• Comparative Example 12 one gallon of the commercial automotive gasoline was added to the car, and the car was driven using the same conditions.
• the odometer read 29035.3 miles, which indicated that the car had been driven 14.7 miles in the test of Comparative Example 12, and that the overall average speed during the test was 38 mph (14.7 miles covered in 23 minutes).
• a waste-plastic melting/vaporization/condensation process of the present invention was tracked in detail, particularly regarding temperatures and the onset and continued progression of the vaporization/condensation stage. Temperatures were recorded by both the Variac setting (and presumed temperature of the heating mantle used) and the temperature of the waste-plastic sample as measured using a thermocouple having a temperature range of from about ⁇ 200° C. to 13,700° C. The duration of the process was about four hours, thirty-five minutes. The process was conducted under a standard fume hood at ambient room temperature (about 21.9° C. to about 2.4° C.). The waste-plastic sample was 300.0 grams of a random mixture of LDPE, HDPE, PP and PS.
• the weight and volume of the condensate collected during the process was 230.3 grams and 315 ml respectively, which corresponds to a condensate yield (Yc) of 76.8 wt. percent and a condensate density (Dc) of 0.73 g/ml.
• the residue left in behind in the boiling vessel weighed 55.6 grams, and therefore the material lost as a non-condensed vapor was 14.1 grams.
• the Variac-regulated heating mantle temperatures, thermocouple-determined waste-plastic sample temperatures and process progress, particularly the progress of the vaporization/condensation, are set forth in Table 13 below versus elapsed time (which was primarily read at five-minute intervals) of the process.
• the process progress is reported in Table 13 as to prior to any melting and vaporization of the plastic sample (elapsed time 1-10 min.), and then as to the onset and continuation of melting and vaporization prior to boiling (elapsed time 15-45 min.), and then as to melting and boiling prior to condensate formation and collection (elapsed time 50-65 min.), and then as to the formation of first condensate drop (at elapsed time of 70 min.), and thereafter as to the rate of condensate formation/collection in terms of drops per minute.
• Samples of condensates of the present invention were compared to samples of commercial fuels as to color and appearance, density and Onset value in Table 14 below. The compositions of these materials are discussed below.
• the condensates of the present invention are identified as to the process of the present invention used to produce the condensates and as to plastic-waste materials used in producing the condensates. All of the plastic-waste materials used were random mixtures of the plastics identified in Table 14 below. Further, the melt/vaporization/condensation process of the present invention is identified in Table 14 as “basic”. A fractional distillation process of the present invention is identified as “fractional” and then as to cut.
• a double distillation processing is identified as “double” and also as to whether it is from the “first” or the “second” collection as described in Example xx 6 above. Whether the sample was filtered or unfiltered after production is specified for some samples. Whether the condensate collection vessel was cooled or not is specified for some samples as “ice” of “w/o ice” for “with ice” and “without ice” respectively.
• the constituents (hydrocarbons) of commercial automotive gasoline can be characterized as of lower molecular weight and structural complexity because commercial gasoline completely volatilize by 220° C.
• dodecane C12H26
• hexane to nonane C6H14 to C9H20
• Fractional, various layers The constituents for the fractionally distilled condensate, bottom layer, are heavy in molecular weight and complex in molecular structure. The constituents don't completely volatilize until a temperature higher than 300° C.
• the constituents of the fractional middle layer sample are of lower molecular weight and less complex in molecular structure than the fractional bottom layer sample.
• the constituents of the fractional top layer sample are lower in molecular weight and less complex in molecular structure when compared to both fractional bottom and middle layer samples.
• Double samples The constituents for the double distilled condensate samples are lower in molecular weight and less structurally complex that the basic samples, either filtered or unfiltered. It is believed that the second vaporization step further breaks down the hydrocarbon constituents. The constituents of the second collection are higher in molecular weight and more structurally complex when compared with the first collection.
• diesel fuel The constituents of commercial diesel fuel are higher in molecular weight and more complex in molecular structure when compared to the other fuel samples listed in Table 14 above. It is believed that diesel fuel contains certain additives and/or some light hydrocarbon materials that enhance the cold startup for diesel-based engines.
• the energy consumed during a basic melt/vaporize/condense process of the present invention was determined as follows.
• a 240 gram mixed waste plastic sample (PP, HDPE 2, LDPE 4 and PS), after cleaning and shredding, underwent a basic melt/vaporize/condense process of the present invention (described in more detail above in Examples 8 and 9 above) was transferred into a round bottom flask (1000 ml) and then placed on a heat mantle controlled with a standard Variac. The plastic was heated, melted and vaporized. The vapor was condensed (via a standard water-cooled condenser) and the condensate was collected. The collected condensate obtained weighed 194.7 grams and has a volume of 252 ml.
• An energy monitoring logger was used to calculate the amount of watts being consumed for heating during the process, which continued for about three hours. In that three hour span a total of 0.830 kWh was consumed for heating which equates to 12.5 kWh per gallon consumed during the production. For comparison, it is noted that the energy content of a commercial automotive gasoline is about 36-37 kWh, which is about three times higher than the energy consumed in the basic process of the present invention.
• the present method is a method for the production of a hydrocarbonaceous fluid from a feed of waste plastic.
• hydrocarbonaceous fluid is meant herein a liquid mixture of hydrocarbons, or in other words a mixture of hydrocarbons which is liquid at ambient room temperature and atmospheric pressure.
• the method comprises in broad embodiments the steps of: (step 1) melting a feed of substantially solid waste plastic in an aerobic atmosphere (for instance, air) whereby a waste-plastic melt is produced; (step 2) distilling at least a portion of the waste-plastic melt whereby a hydrocarbonaceous distillate is produced; and (step 3) collecting the hydrocarbonaceous distillate. That distillate is generally referred to above as a condensate.
• the method includes the step of commutating the feed of substantially solid waste plastic into pieces substantially no greater than about 1.5 cm 2 prior to step 1. In preferred embodiments, the method includes the step of adding an effective amount of a cracking catalyst to the waste plastic prior to step 2.
• step 1 and step 2 are performed by the steps of: (step a) heating the feed of substantially solid waste plastic in an aerobic atmosphere in a vessel to melt and volatilize at least a portion of the feed of waste plastic to form a stream of volatiles; and (step b) condensing the volatiles.
• step a heating the feed of substantially solid waste plastic in an aerobic atmosphere in a vessel to melt and volatilize at least a portion of the feed of waste plastic to form a stream of volatiles.
• step b condensing the volatiles.
• the feed of waste plastic is substantially a feed of linear, thermoplastic polymer, including but not limited to feeds of waste plastic selected from the group consisting of high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, polypropylene and mixtures thereof.
• the method includes the step of (step 4) after step 3, filtering the distillate. In some of the preferred embodiments, the method includes the steps of: (step 4) after step 3, filtering the distillate to produce a filtrate; and (step 5) distilling the filtrate to produce a refined filtrate. In some of the preferred embodiments, the method includes the steps of: (step 4) after step 3, filtering the distillate to produce a filtrate; (step 5) distilling the filtrate to produce a refined filtrate; and (step 6) separately collecting a first fraction of the refined filtrate, such as exemplified above.
• the method includes the steps of: prior to the step 2, adding an effective amount of a cracking catalyst to the waste plastic; (step 4) after step 3, filtering the distillate to produce a filtrate; (step 5) distilling the filtrate to produce a refined filtrate; and (step 6) separately collecting a first fraction of the refined filtrate.
• the present invention also includes, as exemplified above, a hydrocarbonaceous fluid produced according to the method of the invention, and containing hydrocarbons within the liquid hydrocarbon fuel range, which is described above

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• 2009
  • 2009-05-26 US US12/471,717 patent/US20090299110A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2009-05-26 WO PCT/US2009/003200 patent/WO2009145884A1/fr active Application Filing
• 2011
  • 2011-02-02 US US13/019,725 patent/US8927797B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2014
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