System and process for converting plastic waste to oil products

Abstract

In one aspect, a process is provided for converting thermoplastic waste into hydrocarbon gaseous and liquid products. The process includes: placing in a reactor an amount of thermoplastic to be converted; depressurizing the reactor to remove air; filling the reactor with an inert gas; subjecting the amount of thermoplastic to a thermal plasma arc source operating at a select temperature profile for a preselected residence time to produce a gaseous product; directing the gaseous product through at least one condenser; and collecting a liquid fraction condensed from the gaseous product in the at least one condenser.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A process for converting thermoplastic waste into hydrocarbon gaseous and liquid products, the process comprising:
 placing in a reactor an amount of thermoplastic to be converted;   depressurizing the reactor to remove air;   filling the reactor with an inert gas;   subjecting the amount of thermoplastic to a thermal plasma arc source operating at a select temperature profile for a preselected residence time to produce a gaseous product;   directing the gaseous product through at least one condenser; and   collecting a liquid fraction condensed from the gaseous product in the at least one condenser.   
     
     
         2 . The process according to  claim 1 , wherein the inert gas is a pressurized nitrogen gas. 
     
     
         3 . The process according to  claim 2 , wherein the pressurized nitrogen gas is added to the reactor to a pressure of 1 bar. 
     
     
         4 . The process according to  claim 1 , wherein the thermal plasma arc source is a direct current thermal plasma arc source. 
     
     
         5 . The process according to  claim 1 , wherein the preselected residence time is from about 20 to about 40 minutes. 
     
     
         6 . The process according to  claim 1 , wherein the preselected residence time is from about 25 to about 35 minutes. 
     
     
         7 . The process according to  claim 1 , wherein the preselected residence time is about 30 minutes. 
     
     
         8 . The process according to  claim 1 , wherein the thermoplastic is selected from the group consisting of low density polyethylene (LDPE), high density polyethylene (HDPE), polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene tetraphalate (PETE). 
     
     
         9 . The process according to  claim 1 , wherein the reactor is a closed system reactor. 
     
     
         10 . A process for converting thermoplastic waste into hydrocarbon gaseous and liquid products, the process comprising:
 receiving a feedstock of thermoplastic to be converted;   granulating the feedstock to reduce the thermoplastic to a preselected granule size;   delivering the granulated feedstock to a preheat unit and preheating the granulated feedstock based on a preselected preheat temperature profile;   delivering the preheated granulated feedstock into a reactor and subjecting the feedstock to pyrolysis based on a preselected pyrolysis temperature profile for a preselected residence time to produce a gaseous product;   directing the gaseous product through at least one condenser; and   collecting a liquid fraction condensed from the gaseous product in the at least one condenser.