Abstract
Polymer thermal recycling for hydrogen production is a promising process to recover such precious element from plastic waste. In the present work a simple but efficacious high energy milling pretreatment is proposed to boost H2 generation during polyethylene gasification. The polymer is comilled with calcium and nickel hydroxides and then it is subjected to thermal treatment. Results demonstrate the key role played by the calcium hydroxide that significantly ameliorates hydrogen production. It reacts in solid state with the polyethylene to form directly carbonate and hydrogen. In this way, the CO2 is immediately captured in solid form, thus shifting the equilibrium toward H2 generation and obtaining high production rate (>25 L/mol CH2). In addition, high amounts of the hydroxide prevent excessive methane formation, so the gas product is almost pure hydrogen (~95%).
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Al-Salem S M, Lettieri P, Baeyens J (2009). Recycling and recovery routes of plastic solid waste (PSW): A review. Waste Management (New York, N.Y.), 29(10): 2625–2643
Alvarez J, Kumagai S, Wu C, Yoshioka T, Bilbao J, Olazar M, Williams P T (2014). Hydrogen production from biomass and plastic mixtures by pyrolysis-gasification. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 39(21): 10883–10891
Baláž P (2008). Mechanochemistry in Nanoscience and Minerals Engineering. Berlin: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
Bicer Y, Dincer I (2017). Life cycle evaluation of hydrogen and other potential fuels for aircrafts. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 42(16): 10722–10738
Boldyrev V V (2006). Mechanochemistry and mechanical activation of solids. Russian Chemical Reviews, 75(3): 177–189
Boldyrev V V, Tkácová K (2000). Mechanochemistry of solids: Past, present, and prospects. Journal of Materials Synthesis and Processing, 8(3/4): 121–132
Cagnetta G, Huang J, Yu G (2018a). A mini-review on mechanochemical treatment of contaminated soil: From laboratory to large-scale. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, 167: 1–49
Cagnetta G, Robertson J, Huang J, Zhang K, Yu G (2016). Mechanochemical destruction of halogenated organic pollutants: A critical review. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 313: 85–102
Cagnetta G, Zhang K, Zhang Q, Huang J and Yu G (2018b). Mechanochemical pre-treatment for viable recycling of plastic waste containing haloorganics. Waste Management. 75181–186
Chakik F E, Kaddami M, Mikou M (2017). Effect of operating parameters on hydrogen production by electrolysis of water. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 42(40): 25550–25557
Dubinskaya A M (1999). Transformations of organic compounds under the action of mechanical stress. Russian Chemical Reviews, 68(8): 637–652
Favas J, Monteiro E, Rouboa A (2017). Hydrogen production using plasma gasification with steam injection. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 42(16): 10997–11005
Fokina E L, Budim N I, Kochnev V G, Chernik G G (2004). Planetary mills of periodic and continuous action. Journal of Materials Science, 39(16/17): 395217–395221
He M, Xiao B, Hu Z, Liu S, Guo X, Luo S (2009). Syngas production from catalytic gasification of waste polyethylene: Influence of temperature on gas yield and composition. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 34(3): 1342–1348
IPCC (2013). Climate Change 2013. The Physical Science Basis. Available at www.climatechange2013.org (accessed 1 September 2017)
Ishihara Y, Nanbu H, Saido K, Ikemura T, Takesue T (1992). Mechanism for gas formation in polyethylene catalytic decomposition. Polymer, 33(16): 3482–3486
Lee M, Prewitt L, Mun S P (2014). Formaldehyde release from medium density fiberboard in simulated landfills for recycling. Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology, 42(5): 597–604
Li J, Nagamani C, Moore J S (2015). Polymer mechanochemistry: from destructive to productive. Accounts of Chemical Research, 48(8): 2181–2190
Lopez G, Artetxe M, Amutio M, Alvarez J, Bilbao J, Olazar M (2018). Recent advances in the gasification of waste plastics: A critical overview. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 82: 82576–82596
Lopez G, Erkiaga A, Artetxe M, Amutio M, Bilbao J, Olazar M (2015). Hydrogen production by high density polyethylene steam gasification and in-line volatile reforming. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 54(39): 9536–9544
Luo M, Yi Y, Wang S, Wang Z, Du M, Pan J, Wang Q (2017). Review of hydrogen production using chemical-looping technology. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews
Morin N, Arp H P H, Hale S E (2015). Bisphenol A in solid waste materials, leachate water, and air particles from norwegian wastehandling facilities: Presence and partitioning behavior. Environmental Science & Technology, 49(13): 7675–7683
Nematollahi B, Rezaei M, Lay E N, Khajenoori M (2012). Thermodynamic analysis of combined reforming process using Gibbs energy minimization method: In view of solid carbon formation. Journal of Natural Gas Chemistry, 21(6): 694–702
Nikoo M K, Amin N A S (2011). Thermodynamic analysis of carbon dioxide reforming of methane in view of solid carbon formation. Fuel Processing Technology, 92(3): 678–691
Sharma A, Arya S K (2017). Hydrogen from algal biomass: A review of production process. Biotechnology Reports (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 15: 63–69
Sharma P, Kolhe M L (2017). Review of sustainable solar hydrogen production using photon fuel on artificial leaf. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 42(36): 22704–22712
Shen Y, Zhao R, Wang J, Chen X, Ge X, Chen M (2016). Waste-toenergy: Dehalogenation of plastic-containing wastes. Waste Management. 49287–303
Suffredini DFP, Thyssen VV, de Almeyda PMM, Gomes RS, Borges MC (2017). Renewable hydrogen from glycerol reforming over nickel aluminate-based catalysts. Catalysis Today. Discovering new routes for Sustainable Development, 28996–104
Tongamp W, Zhang Q, Saito F (2008). Hydrogen generation from polyethylene by milling and heating with Ca(OH)2 and Ni(OH)2. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 33(15): 4097–4103
Tongamp W, Zhang Q, Saito F (2009a). Generation of hydrogen gas from polyethylene mechanically milled with Ni-doped layered double hydroxide. Fuel Processing Technology, 90(7–8): 909–913
Tongamp W, Zhang Q, Saito F (2010). Generation of H2 gas from polystyrene and poly(vinyl alcohol) by milling and heating with Ni(OH)2 and Ca(OH)2. Fuel Processing Technology, 91(3): 272–276
Tongamp W, Zhang Q, Shoko M, Saito F (2009b). Generation of hydrogen from polyvinyl chloride by milling and heating with CaO and Ni(OH)2. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 167(1–3): 1002–1006
Wieczorek-Ciurowa K, Gamrat K (2007). Mechanochemical syntheses as an example of green processes. Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry, 88(1): 213–217
Worldwatch Institute (2015). Global plastic production rises, recycling lags January. Available at https://doi.org/vitalsigns.worldwatch.org/vs-trend/global-plastic-production-rises-recycling-lags (accessed 29 August 2017)
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Major Science and Technology Program for Water Pollution Control and Treatment in China (Grant No. 2017ZX07202004).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cagnetta, G., Zhang, K., Zhang, Q. et al. Augmented hydrogen production by gasification of ball milled polyethylene with Ca(OH)2 and Ni(OH)2. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng. 13, 11 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-019-1096-5
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-019-1096-5