View in EDS HTML Full Text PDF Full Text

Chemical Recycling of Post-Consumer Polystyrene by Thermal Pyrolysis: High-Yield Recovery of Aromatic Hydrocarbons for Circular Plastic Economy.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Chemical Recycling of Post-Consumer Polystyrene by Thermal Pyrolysis: High-Yield Recovery of Aromatic Hydrocarbons for Circular Plastic Economy.
Authors: Hernandez-Fernandez, Joaquin1,2 (AUTHOR) jhernandezf@unicartagena.edu.co, Gonzalez-Cuello, Rafael2,3 (AUTHOR), Ortega-Toro, Rodrigo3 (AUTHOR)
Source: Polymers (20734360). May2026, Vol. 18 Issue 10, p1172. 21p.
Subjects: Polystyrene, Pyrolysis, Gas chromatography/Mass spectrometry (GC-MS), Pyrolysis kinetics, Circular economy, Chemical recycling, Aromatic compounds
Abstract: This study evaluates the non-catalytic thermal pyrolysis of post-consumer polystyrene (PS) in a laboratory-scale batch fixed-bed reactor to recover aromatic-rich liquid products. The PS feedstock was characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and micro-Raman spectroscopy to assess its thermal behavior and chemical homogeneity. In addition, the main TGA degradation region was analyzed using Coats–Redfern, Horowitz–Metzger, and Broido kinetic models, yielding apparent activation energies of 269.18, 288.83, and 280.69 kJ mol−1, respectively. Pyrolysis experiments were performed at final temperatures of 400, 450, and 500 °C and heating rates of 10 and 20 °C min−1 under continuous N2 flow. The maximum liquid yield reached 95.2 wt% at 500 °C and 20 °C min−1, while the estimated gaseous fraction decreased to approximately 2.0 wt%. ANOVA confirmed that final temperature was the dominant factor controlling liquid recovery, contributing approximately 83% of the model variability, whereas heating rate had a secondary but significant effect. GC–MS analysis showed that the pyrolysis oil was mainly composed of aromatic hydrocarbons, including styrene, toluene, and ethylbenzene, with increasing temperature promoting the redistribution of the liquid fraction toward lighter monoaromatic compounds. These results indicate that non-catalytic fixed-bed pyrolysis is a promising route for converting post-consumer PS into aromatic-rich liquid products. However, the recovered oil should be considered a complex mixture rather than a purified monomer stream, and further gas-phase characterization, downstream purification, energy-balance evaluation, life-cycle assessment, and techno-economic analysis are required before definitive claims regarding industrial circularity or environmental performance can be established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Polymers (20734360) is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Engineering Source
Full text is not displayed to guests.
FullText Links:
  – Type: pdflink
Text:
  Availability: 1
Header DbId: egs
DbLabel: Engineering Source
An: 194117773
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Chemical Recycling of Post-Consumer Polystyrene by Thermal Pyrolysis: High-Yield Recovery of Aromatic Hydrocarbons for Circular Plastic Economy.
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hernandez-Fernandez%2C+Joaquin%22">Hernandez-Fernandez, Joaquin</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> jhernandezf@unicartagena.edu.co</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Gonzalez-Cuello%2C+Rafael%22">Gonzalez-Cuello, Rafael</searchLink><relatesTo>2,3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ortega-Toro%2C+Rodrigo%22">Ortega-Toro, Rodrigo</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Polymers+%2820734360%29%22">Polymers (20734360)</searchLink>. May2026, Vol. 18 Issue 10, p1172. 21p.
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subjects
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Polystyrene%22">Polystyrene</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Pyrolysis%22">Pyrolysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Gas+chromatography%2FMass+spectrometry+%28GC-MS%29%22">Gas chromatography/Mass spectrometry (GC-MS)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Pyrolysis+kinetics%22">Pyrolysis kinetics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Circular+economy%22">Circular economy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Chemical+recycling%22">Chemical recycling</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Aromatic+compounds%22">Aromatic compounds</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: This study evaluates the non-catalytic thermal pyrolysis of post-consumer polystyrene (PS) in a laboratory-scale batch fixed-bed reactor to recover aromatic-rich liquid products. The PS feedstock was characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and micro-Raman spectroscopy to assess its thermal behavior and chemical homogeneity. In addition, the main TGA degradation region was analyzed using Coats–Redfern, Horowitz–Metzger, and Broido kinetic models, yielding apparent activation energies of 269.18, 288.83, and 280.69 kJ mol−1, respectively. Pyrolysis experiments were performed at final temperatures of 400, 450, and 500 °C and heating rates of 10 and 20 °C min−1 under continuous N2 flow. The maximum liquid yield reached 95.2 wt% at 500 °C and 20 °C min−1, while the estimated gaseous fraction decreased to approximately 2.0 wt%. ANOVA confirmed that final temperature was the dominant factor controlling liquid recovery, contributing approximately 83% of the model variability, whereas heating rate had a secondary but significant effect. GC–MS analysis showed that the pyrolysis oil was mainly composed of aromatic hydrocarbons, including styrene, toluene, and ethylbenzene, with increasing temperature promoting the redistribution of the liquid fraction toward lighter monoaromatic compounds. These results indicate that non-catalytic fixed-bed pyrolysis is a promising route for converting post-consumer PS into aromatic-rich liquid products. However, the recovered oil should be considered a complex mixture rather than a purified monomer stream, and further gas-phase characterization, downstream purification, energy-balance evaluation, life-cycle assessment, and techno-economic analysis are required before definitive claims regarding industrial circularity or environmental performance can be established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Polymers (20734360) is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=egs&AN=194117773
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.3390/polym18101172
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 21
        StartPage: 1172
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Polystyrene
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Pyrolysis
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Gas chromatography/Mass spectrometry (GC-MS)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Pyrolysis kinetics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Circular economy
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Chemical recycling
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Aromatic compounds
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Chemical Recycling of Post-Consumer Polystyrene by Thermal Pyrolysis: High-Yield Recovery of Aromatic Hydrocarbons for Circular Plastic Economy.
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Hernandez-Fernandez, Joaquin
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Gonzalez-Cuello, Rafael
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Ortega-Toro, Rodrigo
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 15
              M: 05
              Text: May2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 20734360
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 18
            – Type: issue
              Value: 10
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Polymers (20734360)
              Type: main
ResultId 1