A review of microwave pyrolysis as a sustainable plastic waste management technique
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-1-2022
Abstract
The high demand for plastic has led to plastic waste accumulation, improper disposal and environmental pollution. Even though some of this waste is recycled, most ends up in landfills or flows down rivers into the oceans. Therefore, researchers are now exploring better ways to solve the plastic waste management problem. From a socio-economic perspective, there is also a concerted effort to enable energy recovery from plastic waste and convert it into useful products to generate income for targeted segments of the population. In fact, this concept of waste-to-wealth has been adopted by the United Nations as part of its Sustainable Development Goals strategies. The current article begins by reviewing the strengths and weaknesses of plastic recycling before focusing specifically on microwave pyrolysis as an alternative to conventional technologies in plastic waste management, due to its benefit in providing fast and energy-efficient heating. The key parameters that are reviewed in this paper include different types of plastic, types of absorbent, temperatures, microwave power, residence time, and catalysts. The yield of the final product (oil, gaseous and char) varies depending on the main process parameters. Key challenges and limitations of microwave pyrolysis are also discussed in this paper.
Keywords
Pyrolysis, Microwave pyrolysis, Plastic wastes, Waste to energy, Waste disposal
Divisions
fac_eng,Faculty_of_Business_and_Accountancy
Funders
University Malaya Impact Oriented Interdisciplinary Research Grant [Grant No: IIRG008A-2019]
Publication Title
Journal of Environmental Management
Volume
303
Publisher
Academic Press Ltd- Elsevier Science Ltd
Publisher Location
24-28 OVAL RD, LONDON NW1 7DX, ENGLAND