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Design of A Full-Scale Plant For Plastic Pyrolysis
Design of A Full-Scale Plant For Plastic Pyrolysis
ScholarWorks at WMU
4-20-2021
Part of the Aerospace Engineering Commons, and the Chemical Engineering Commons
Recommended Citation
Sargent, Hannah, "Design of a Full-Scale Plant for Plastic Pyrolysis" (2021). Honors Theses. 3393.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/honors_theses/3393
Sponsoring Company
Faculty Mentor
Industry Mentors
This is to certify that the project “Design of a Full-Scale Plant for Plastic Pyrolysis” has
been submitted to the Western Michigan Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Kaden Allen
David Lont
Hannah Sargent
Christopher Weaver
1
Disclaimer
This project report was written by students at Western Michigan University to fulfill an
the material contained in this report is error-free or complete in all respects. Persons or
2
Acknowledgement
We would like to express our gratitude to all the individuals that helped us complete this
project. Due to our lack of engineering experience many challenges and obstacles were faced,
but these individuals helped us overcome these to complete the final project.
We would like to thank Dr. Parviz Merati for the mentorship and counseling during this
project. With this our project would not have progressed in the manner it did.
We would also like to thank Chad Clark, “Carbon Expert”, for this opportunity and the
guidance and direction throughout this project. Without this we would have not had the chance to
We would lastly like to thank Cary Allen for his instruction and training over the course
of this project. Without this we would not have been able to gain the experience and wealth of
Finally, we would like to thank Jerrel Branson from Liquid Extractions for his
contributions to developing the chemical process of plastic pyrolysis (which he has a provisional
patent for) in an auger reactor. His expertise and recommendations for this project were key
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Abstract
With over thirty million tons of plastic accumulating in the United States every year, the
need for an environmentally safe means of disposal is increasing. Only ten percent of this plastic
is recycled while the majority is disposed of via landfill. With recent advances in pyrolysis
research, a permanent solution is presented. By creating a pyrolysis plant, not only could billions
of pounds of plastic be prevented from contributing to landfills, but also be converted to oil
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Table of Contents
Certification 1
Disclaimer 2
Acknowledgement 3
Abstract 4
Table of Contents 5
List of Figures 7
List of Tables 8
Introduction 9
History 9
Introduction to pyrolysis 9
Company 10
Design Requirements 11
Processing Rate 11
Temperature requirements 11
Facilities available 12
Fabrication 13
Safety 13
Cost constraints 14
Approach 14
Reactor choice 14
Rotary Kiln 15
Fluidized Bed Reactor 15
Conical Spouted Bed Reactor 15
Ablative 16
Screw 16
Heating source selection 17
Self-sustainment 18
Timeline 19
Design 19
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Initial calculations 20
Heat calculations 20
Estimated Molar Mass of Gases Produced 21
Estimated Molar Mass of Produced Oil 22
Volumetric Flow Rate Calculations 22
Process Flow Diagram (PFD) 23
Piping and Instrumentation Diagram (P&ID) 26
Reactor CAD model 28
Process Inputs and Outputs 28
Hot Side Seal (Detail 1) 29
Cold Side Seal (Detail 2) 29
Auger 30
Heating Element 31
Insulation and End Cap 31
Parts to be Fabricated 31
Assembly 32
Reactor CFD Analysis 35
Cost and Weight Estimate 41
Economic and Environmental Impact 43
Shortcomings 45
Conclusion 45
Future Work 46
References 47
Appendices 49
Heat calculations 49
Heating method ideas 50
Additional CFD images 51
Responsibilities Table 53
Resumes 54
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List of Figures
7
List of Tables
8
1. Introduction
1.1. History
Manufacturing char through carbonizing wood has happened throughout the entirety of
human history. The goal of producing char grew to other products such as tar and methanol as
mankind advanced. Though some mild advances occurred throughout history, the oil crisis of the
1970s caused an increase in research and experimentation with the pyrolysis process in hopes of
finding a solution to dependency on fossil fuel. Soon after, the commercial batch-by-batch
systems that used brick ovens with low oxygen and indirect heat had to be emptied of char after
each use and were replaced with fixed Bed and fluidized bed systems. These had the drawback
of hazardous tar or char byproducts but showed a great advance in the efficiency of the process.
The process was even further advanced at the turn of the century with the implementation of
augurs, circulating fluidized beds and many others. This has led to many pyrolysis plants being
created in the past decade with the most common being tire pyrolysis plants, one of which in
2017 received the first “C2C” certification given to a pyrolysis plant, signifying safety and
energy efficiency. This leads to today where the continuous research and application of the
pyrolysis process gives opportunity for eradicating the current plastic waste problem. A
ranging from 250°C to 900°C. This is done in the absence of oxygen to produce liquid oil. For
this process to occur, the plastic material is fed into a reactor which creates liquid oil through
heat transfer. The char is then extracted and filtered from the oil so that the oil can be condensed
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Figure 2: History of Pyrolysis
1.3. Company
provider based in Conroe, Texas. GCES specializes in Industrial Air Pollution Control but also
supplies products, consultation, and services for other thermal and energy processes. The
company provides complete solutions to over 30 industries across 17 countries and takes pride in
GCES was responsible for the conception of this project as they believe this system has
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2. Design Requirements
The following requirements have been set by GCES to ensure that the plant is operating
at its best performance while ensuring that the system is both sustainable and that safety
The plant will be processing 10 US tons of recycled plastic per day. The plastic will go
into a hopper that then slowly feeds into an extruder before entering the reactor where the
pyrolysis takes place. The plant will be operating 24 hours a day. Therefore, the design mass
flow rate through the reactor is 833.3 lbs/hr (378 kg/hr), or equivalently, 0.105 kg/s. This value
was recommended by GCES and was used in determining the sizing of the pilot plant.
With 20 thousand pounds of plastic passing through the reactor a day, it is estimated that
only 15,586 lbs will be converted into API 51° oil. The remaining mass will be converted into
2,412 lbs of gaseous hydrocarbons and 2,002 lbs of char. The oil will be collected and sold while
the hydrocarbons can either be sold or used to help power the plant. The char can also be sold
Ensuring the proper temperature gradients in the plant is key to the plant’s successful
operation. The most crucial part of this plant is its reactor as this is where the plastic is pyrolyzed
into crude oils. It has been determined that the ability to regulate and control the temperature
gradient within the reactor should be implemented in its design to ensure that the plant has the
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The plastic in the hopper will be fed into an extruder which will shred and preheat the
plastic to its melting temperature. This ensures the plastic going into the reactor will have a
higher density and more uniform temperature distribution. It is expected that this will increase
the efficiency of the reactor. The extruder should preheat the plastic to about 536°F (280°C),
which is higher than the melting temperatures of high density polypropylene (HDPE), low
density polypropylene (LDPE), and polyethylene (PE) which are the plastics of interest, which
will be converted into fuel. Melting the plastic to this temperature is estimated to require 5.5
The reactor will be designed for an inlet temperature of 500°F (260°C). The reactor will
then gradually increase the temperature gradient along its length to a final temperature of 896°F
(480°C). Further increasing the temperature of the reactor is expected to decrease the formation
of coke and char in the crude oils. At this temperature, the fuel will be in the gaseous phase and,
therefore, a condenser is required. The char collected is expected to require a dedicated cooling
system as well. This system will consist of another screw conveyor that is immersed in water.
The crude oil and hydrocarbon byproduct gas leaving the reactor will then be filtered
with a centripetal filter to remove any char mixed with the oil. The oil will then be cooled with a
condenser using city water to remove the heat. The city water is estimated to have an average
input temperature of 70°F (21°C) which can be used to bring the temperature of the fuels
produced to 200°F (93°C) before the output fuels can be stored. Both the liquid oil and gas
Since Gulf Coast Environmental Systems is located in Texas, their facilities were not
readily available for our use. By contrast, Western Michigan Universities resources were
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available and used often for different programs including, but not limited to, AutoCAD and
Fluent.
2.4. Fabrication
Fabrication of this plant is outside the scope of this project, however, the plans for
fabrication are well within. GCES has it’s very own fabrication shop with all the equipment
needed to make the plant. Because of this, they will be responsible for fabrication. In order to
fabricate this system, the shop at GCES needs the proper documentation. This documentation
includes technical drawing of the reactor as well as purchase orders for all relevant part drawings
for fabrication. It is expected of the team to create the drawings, find price estimates of the parts,
and part drawings that will then be reviewed and approved by GCES.
2.5. Safety
The main safety hazard of this plant will be due to the hot temperatures inside of the
reactor. The reactor will be well insulated so that any exposed surfaces of the reactor and plant
do not exceed 140°F (60°C). This complies with the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA).
A second potential hazard will be related to any excess pressure which could cause an
explosion. Careful consideration will be taken in the design of the plant to include explosion
vents as necessary. The type and size of these explosion vents, however, is outside of the scope
of this project and left to GCES to decide. Proper warning labels and signs will also be used to
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2.6. Cost constraints
This plastic pyrolysis plant will be the most profitable if the total cost of design and
manufacturing of the plant can be minimized. It was ensured that the parts to be purchased or
manufactured for the pyrolysis plant are within the allocated budget set forth by GCES.
Something that was also considered was purchasing used parts for the extruder screws to lower
the overall cost. The total cost of designing and manufacturing the completed pilot plant should
3. Approach
The approach for designing the reactor was set up in multiple steps. The first step was
researching the different reactor geometries that are in use in the industry. Next, a decision
matrix was created to compare the different geometries and ultimately choose one for the plant.
Then, three concepts were drawn up for the heating source for the reactor and one was chosen for
the design. Next, an analysis was done regarding the self-sustaining ability of the reactor based
on the products collected at the end of the pyrolysis process. Lastly, Figure 3 shows the Gantt
chart which gives a timeline of the group’s tasks for the project.
The major element of design for this plastic pyrolysis plant is the reactor which will melt
the plastic on a temperature gradient from 500 °F to 896 °F. The first step in designing the
reactor was to choose the type and geometry of the reactor. The geometries investigated were
rotary kiln, fluidized bed reactor, conical spouted bed reactor, ablative, and screw. Table 1 below
shows the decision matrix created to aid in the decision for the reactor geometry. Based on the
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decision matrix and discussions with GCES, it was concluded that a screw reactor would be best
The rotary kiln pyrolyzer is a drum that has blades located circumferentially along the
walls and rotates to mix the plastic and is heated externally. The drum is also usually inclined by
a couple degrees to help with the movement of the plastic. The benefits of a rotary kiln geometry
are that it can handle high operating temperatures and involves a continuous mixing of the
plastic. However, the downsides of this kind of geometry are that it is very costly to operate and
The fluidized bed reactor involves an inert bed where a fluidization medium is passed
through a bed of solid reactants and the bed is heated externally. The shredded feedstock is fed
through the top of the reactor while the heated bed flows in through the bottom. Some
advantages of the fluidized bed reactor are that it involves uniform particle mixing and
temperature gradients. However, some of the disadvantages of this geometry are that it can be
The conical spouted bed reactor operates similar to the fluidized bed reactor but uses a
conical spouted geometry to filter the plastic feedstock through instead. The advantages of this
geometry is that it creates a higher collision rate and has a much smaller pressure drop compared
to the fluidized bed reactor. The disadvantages of the conical spouted bed reactor are that the
more complicated design results in issues with the catalyst feeding and entrainment and the
product collection.
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3.1.4. Ablative
The ablative pyrolyzer consists of two electronically heated grinding discs where the
upper disc is fixed and the lower disc is pressed by a spring and rotated by a vertical shaft. Some
of the benefits of an ablative reactor is that the reaction system is more intense comparatively
and that it can be easily scaled up. However, some of the disadvantages of this type of geometry
are that it creates less heat transfer than the other reactors and requires a lot of maintenance.
3.1.5. Screw
The screw reactor, also known as an auger reactor, is a reactor geometry consisting of a
screw inside a shaft that is externally heated. The advantages of the screw reactor geometry is
that it is a simple system and can easily be scaled up for larger amounts of feedstock. However,
some of the downsides of this type of reactor are that it has poor heat transfer between the heated
reactor wall and the cold screw shaft and it has a slower speed.
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Reactor Economic Heat Scale up
Durability Risk Speed Factors
type feasibility transfer flexibility
Total
Weight 5 6 4 3 2 1
score
Rotary
3 1 2 3 3 2 46
Kiln
Fluidized
3 5 1 4 5 5 76
Bed
Conical
Spouted 3 5 1 4 5 5 76
Bed
Ablative 3 2 1 5 3 1 53
Screw 5 2 5 5 5 2 84
Once the reactor geometry was decided, the heating source then needed to be selected.
Three concepts were developed for how to heat the screw reactor for the plastic pyrolysis plant
which can be found in Appendix 1. The three concepts were electric band heating, induction
heating, and electric resistance heating. The first option, electric band heating, has bands
wrapped around the reactor jacket. The bands will have multiple circuits connected to it to
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gradually increase the temperature along the reactor. The second option, induction heating, has
heat induced at each end of the auger and the middle section of the inner tube is heated through
conduction. The third option, electric resistance heating, has resistance heaters placed inside the
auger to allow for uniform heating. After discussions with the company, it was decided that the
first concept of electric band heating would be best for this reactor design. The band heating
allows for the most feasible heat transfer with the ability for having a gradual temperature
3.3. Self-sustainment
One of the goals of this project was to determine if the plant could run solely off the
combustion of the output hydrocarbon gas in a generator. To approach this, calculations were
done to determine the amount of energy needed to run the two main power sinks: the plastic
extruder and the pyrolysis reactor. Assuming 100% thermal efficiency, the heat required for these
two components is 22.24 MMBTU/day (22.887 GJ/day). Once this was found, a few
assumptions were made about the composition of the output gas (see section 4.1). The heat
released through the combustion of all of the output gas was estimated to be 55.997
After researching the typical efficiency of a natural gas generator (found to be between
30% and 40%), it was determined that this plant would not be self-sufficient and would require
external sources of energy to function. This conclusion was made based on the fact that, given
the calculations, a generator needed to have an efficiency of 38.7% in order to power the plant.
This is far too close of a margin for safe operation. Furthermore, the heat requirement calculated
above assumes a thermal efficiency of 100% and that the reactor and extruder were the only
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3.4. Timeline
Figure 3 below shows the overall schedule for the design of the plastic pyrolysis plant.
These tasks are shown on the left, and the two colors for the bars represent the two different
semesters: blue for the fall semester and green for spring semester.
4. Design
The overall design of the plastic pyrolysis plant was done in three steps: initial heat
calculations, a process flow diagram, and a piping and instrumentation diagram. The heat
calculations were done to document temperature, mass flow rate, and volumetric flow rate at
certain points in the plant. These values were then used to create the process flow diagram and
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4.1. Initial calculations
The initial calculations were done with regards to heat, estimated molar mass of the gases
produced, estimated molar mass of the oils produced, and volumetric flow rate. These were used
grinds and heats the plastic until it is melted and of a consistent mixture before entering the
reactor. The target temperature of the plastic is 536°F at the end of the extruder after entering the
hopper at room temperature. The reactor will gradually increase the temperature of the pyrolyzed
plastic until it reaches a temperature of 896°F. At this point, all of the plastic will have been
converted to fuel and a small amount of char. To obtain these desired changes in temperature, the
The change in heat per mass of plastic going into the extruder was determined using
°
∆𝑞𝐸𝑥𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑑𝑒𝑟 = (𝐶𝑝∆𝑇 + ∆ℎ 𝑓𝑢𝑠)𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐 (1)
The change in heat in the reactor was calculated in a similar way using Equation (3) and
° °
∆𝑞𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 = (𝐶𝑝∆𝑇 + ∆ℎ 𝑣𝑎𝑝)𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐 + (𝐶𝑝∆𝑇 + ∆ℎ 𝑣𝑎𝑝)𝑜𝑖𝑙 (3)
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The total change in heat required was then determined by taking the sum of the changes in heat
for the extruder and reactor. This is shown in the following equations, Equation (5) and Equation
(6).
According to GCES, it is predicted that 2,412 lbs (1094 kg) of gas will be produced by
pyrolysis. The company estimates 90% of this gas will be methane. The heat released by the
combustion of methane was then determined to be 54 MJ/kg. Therefore, the total heat released
by methane is
In order for the plant to be self-sustaining, we need a natural gas generator with 38.7% efficiency
which is typically between 35%-40% and this is assuming the system is 100% efficient
otherwise (an unrealistic assumption). Because of this, we can conclude that the system will not
be self-sustaining based on the produced gas and will need other sources of energy in order to
operate. A complete table of all of the heat values can be found in Table 6 in Section 13.1 in the
Appendix.
𝑄𝐶𝐻
η𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 = 4
𝑄𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙
= 0. 387 (7)
The average molar mass of the gas produced was determined from the sum of the
products of the theoretical gases released with the percentages as shown in Table 2 below.
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Gases produced methane ethane propane butane avg
Molar masses of certain distillates of this oil are hard to estimate. A safety margin of 150
g/mol was used since it is better to underestimate the molar mass (in turn, underestimate the
density) as it is safer to have pipes that are able to handle a larger volume than needed than pipes
that cannot handle enough. Table 3 below shows the estimated molar mass values for the
produced oil.
API 51° grade oil gasoline kerosene diesel Heavy oil Safety margin
(g/mol)
In order to determine how big the plant needs to be, it is important to understand the
volumetric flow rate within each pipe and component. As has been observed, the volume of
different substances changes as heat is added. Because of this phenomena, the coefficient of
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linear thermal expansion of each material needed to be found. This value is used to calculate the
new density of a substance. From here, the volume can easily be found.
To start this calculation, the density of the melted plastic entering the reactor, its
coefficient of linear thermal expansion (α), and the change in temperature needed to be known.
ρ𝑀𝑒𝑙𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐
ρ𝐸𝑥𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑑𝑒𝑟, 𝑜𝑢𝑡 = ρ𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟, 𝑖𝑛 = 1+α(𝑇𝑛𝑒𝑤−𝑇𝑚.𝑝.)
(8)
Here, Equation (8) above, is used to find the density of the plastic at the inlet of the reactor,
however, this equation can be used to find the density at any point within the reactor that sees
The reactor output density was found using the ideal gas law using the crude oil and
Using the mass flow rate and densities found using the method above, the volume flow
𝑉˙ =
ρ𝑚
𝑡
(9)
From here, the flow rate was converted into standard cubic feet per minute (SCFM) as it is easily
As with any process, the process flow diagram serves as a backbone for the rest of the
project. A PFD shows the conditions of the inputs, outputs, and at every step in between. Many
calculations have to be done in order to ensure that this diagram is as accurate as possible. Any
mistake made on this document will result in further mistakes down the road resulting in
expensive changes and/or catastrophic events. That being said, a large percentage of the time
spent on this project was spent perfecting the process flow diagram.
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As stated above, this PFD serves as the backbone for the project and is referred to by all
that are involved in order to communicate the proper conditions and so that the team is acting as
one. Any new finding causes an immediate update to the PFD to ensure that the team is up to
date. Figure 4 below shows the PFD for the designed plastic pyrolysis plant.
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Figure 4: Process Flow Diagram
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4.3. Piping and Instrumentation Diagram (P&ID)
The piping and instrumentation diagram is essentially a more detailed PFD. This diagram
shows all the same information as the PFD while adding all the instruments, pipe sizing, and
more detail about the process itself. The P&ID in this report is incomplete as it was mostly
outside the scope of the project, however, Gulf Coast Environmental System insisted on an
attempt being made to create it for its educational value. The shortcomings of this particular
document are the pipe sizing as well as many of the instruments, as the team was not experienced
in this field. Figure 5 below shows the P&ID for the designed plastic pyrolysis plant.
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Figure 5: Piping & Instrumentation Diagram
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5. Reactor CAD model
Design models were made in 2D using AutoCAD. Due to the hazardous nature of this
reactor and the overall inexperience of the group, it is highly recommended that all aspects of
this design be checked and approved by the responsible parties before manufacturing begins.
In this design, there is one input and three outputs. The process inlet carries liquid plastic
from the extruder to the reactor and is placed on the underside at the beginning of the reactor (far
left). The first system of outlets (two ports) is located at the top left of the reactor and is meant to
vent off any dirty gas and nitrogen that made it through the initial purge, ensuring a clean,
contaminant free environment for the melted plastic to react. The second set of output ports are
located on the top right of the reactor. Here, all crude oil and natural gas is sucked out by a
blower downstream and is to be treated and collected. The third and final output of this system is
located on the bottom right of the reactor. This output's purpose is to rid the system of any coking
that has built up in the system. The coke is carried to the output via the auger.
The inputs are all welded to the reactor jacket at 30° angles from the horizon in the
direction shown in the drawing. 30° angles were chosen for these outputs so that the system
would continue to run properly as the inclination moves from 0-30°. The inlet is welded at this
angle as an attempt at keeping the plastic flowing to the right. Ideally, this creates a low pressure
zone in the top left section of the reactor. The low pressure zone will help to pull all remaining
gases out of the plastic before being sucked out of the system. Similarly, the nitrogen outputs are
applied to the left and at the same angle as the input. This ensures that the liquid will have a
more difficult time moving into and out of the ports. Furthermore, the process outputs are welded
at 30° and opposing flow, again, this makes it difficult for liquids to move up the ports while still
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allowing easy venting of gas. The coke output (located at the bottom right) is placed at this
similar angle to ensure coking is easily evacuated as the inclination of the system increases.
The nitrogen and process outlets are 10 inch long, ½ in NPT (national pipe thread) TOE
(threaded one end) so that pipe fittings, such as valves, can be fitted to one end while the other
end can be butt welded to the reactor. Multiple of these pipes are welded on so that an operator
In order to ensure a proper seal on the hot side (right side) of the reactor. A sealing
strategy must be used. The difficulty in this lies in the fact that the temperatures inside the
reactor are far too high for any O-ring to withstand. Because of this, a bushing, or sleeve bearing,
was used. This is because it can be welded in place and will not leak process gas to the outside.
Furthermore, ball bearings become less effective at these temperatures due to the thermal
expansion of the balls within their sleeve. An alternative to this bushing could be a slightly larger
pipe that the end of the screw can rest in. As the system is inclined, this bushing will not carry as
much load as the cold side, and therefore, does not need to have the same reinforcement.
The end plate on the hot side will also be welded to a piece of circular angle that is then
welded to the jacket of the reactor. This will be done early in the assembly process where water
The cold side (left side) sealing system is difficult to design as there is a rotating shaft
that must exit the system. Like the hot side, the cold side’s temperature (536°F) is still a major
design consideration. The design chosen features a double mechanical seal with a bushing inside
the reactor and bearing outside. Here, an 8 inch pipe is welded to the outside of the reactor end
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plate. Inside this pipe will be a circular piece of angled steel that will work to push the O-ring
housing inward as force is applied via a spring. This system is designed to be redundant with two
The end plate is then secured to the jacket by bolting to a flange that is welded to the
jacket. A high temperature, metal reinforced fiber gasket is placed between the end plate and the
As stated above, heat is still a major consideration so the O-rings chosen are made out of
kalrez. This material has many advantageous properties but most importantly, can withstand
temperatures up to 635°F. Given the fact that the auger will conduct heat toward the O-rings, an
engineering decision was made to start the application of the heating element two feet from the
end plate. This makes it so less heat will be conducted to the O-rings which ultimately protects
them.
5.4. Auger
Because the auger is very difficult to manufacture, its creation will need to be carried out
by another company. This, however, did not stop the auger from being designed. Basic
calculations were done to create a preliminary design. From here, the design was further
idealized. Because of this, the center shaft (shown as the dark shaft down the center of the
reactor in Figure 6) was assumed to be 6 inches in diameter. The effects of this idealization can
be seen in the design as both the hot and cold side sealing mechanisms are designed around the 6
inch shaft.
The blades of the auger (shown as the gray boxes surrounding the shaft in Figure 6) will
have an outer radius that is ⅙ of an inch smaller than that of the reactor jacket. This is intended to
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allow the auger to rotate without any direct friction with the jacket, however, this gap is small
enough that the auger will push all coke toward the aft end of the reactor.
To maintain a reactor temperature of 896°F, electric band heaters are applied to the area
around the outside of the reactor. The electric band heaters are gradually applied in greater
volume in order to provide a gradual increase in temperature from 500°F at the inlet to 896°F at
the outlet. This area is insulated in order to maintain this temperature gradient. The power
required for this is found by finding the volume, density, specific heat, change in temperature and
To keep the reactor running as efficiently and as safely as possible, 6 inches of mineral
wool (8 lb/cu ft density) is to be placed around the reactor jacket. This is then held on by 18
gauge embossed aluminum. As per the request of GCES, the input and output pipe insulation
does not show on the drawings as they will be wrapped later on.
Due to the design of the hot side jacket end plate, insulation is difficult to add and hold in
place. This problem resulted in the design of a handheld exterior end cap. The cap is filled with 6
inches of insulation and has a slightly larger diameter than the exterior wall of the reactor. This is
so the cap can be quickly placed and removed from the reactor.
Figure 7 features all the parts that can be fabricated in the GCES shop. All parts start as
metal stock that is purchased from various vendors. The parts are then cut, bent, and crafted to
the exact specs shown in the drawings. The drawings list the part number as well as the material,
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quantity, and exact dimensions needed (aside from cut to fit parts, these are reserved for the
5.8. Assembly
The entire design was made with accessibility and the assembly procedure in mind. The
manner of which parts are connected is carefully considered. To start, all flanges should be
welded to their respective location. Then, the hot side bushing is welded to the end plate before
the end plate is welded to the jacket. From here, the weld is checked by filling the bottom of the
jacket with water and checking for leaks. Then, the input and output pipes are butt welded to the
jacket. As this is all being done, the one angled bar can be welded to the inside of the cold side
sealing pipe. This can then be welded to the cold side jacket end plate. The cold side end plate
can be bolted on after the auger is loaded in and meets the bearing at the hot side. The reactor is
then covered in 6 inches of mineral wool insulation. The O-ring housing, spring, then second
O-ring housing are loaded into the sealing mechanism on the cold side end plate. The exterior
end plate is then bolted in place before the 18 gauge, embossed aluminum is cut to fit around the
reactor.
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Figure 6: Reactor CAD Drawings
33
Figure 7: Parts to be Fabricated Drawings
34
6. Reactor CFD Analysis
Both ANSYS Fluent and ANSYS CFX were used for the analysis of the flow and heat
transfer of the reactor, and they provided near-identical results. The images shown in this report
are from ANSYS Fluent. Figure 8 below shows the 3D CAD model. The auger was created in
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The reactor was first modeled as 7 parts: the auger, fluid volume, and five thin tubes
representing the outer jacket of the reactor. This jacket was sliced into sections as shown by the
colored regions in Figure 8 above where a different temperature was applied as the boundary
conditions along the length of the reactor. The heating coil wrapped around the jacket of the
reactor will be broken into several sections to have a good temperature gradient control along the
length of the reactor. This should ensure an efficient pyrolysis of the plastic with minimal
charring. In this case, the reactor has been split into five equally spaced heating sections (1.2 m
each). Going from left to right, the temperatures applied in discrete steps are 533, 590, 645, 699,
and 753 [K]. It is expected that the actual length and number of divisions for these temperature
Figure 9 below shows the velocity component of the fluid along the axial direction. The
fluid used in this model was water, since at these very high temperatures, the heat distribution
along the reactor was very similar to that of plastic as will be shown later.
The purpose of the auger is to mix the pyrolyzed plastic and to force any char out of the
reactor. The number of turns in the auger will have to be determined by GCES, as the actual flow
along the reactor is mixed, chemically reactive, and thus very complicated to model. To obtain a
general idea of the flow along the reactor, the auger was modeled as having a constant blade
pitch of 0.5 m along the length of the reactor. As advised by GCES, it is very likely that an
increasing pitch along the direction of the flow may result in better control of the pyrolysis such
that the plastic that has been fully pyrolyzed near the hottest section along the reactor is extracted
quickly, thus preventing charring. The radius of the auger core was modeled to be one-quarter
the radius of the outer wall housing the reactor. This ratio was determined from the ratio of
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various extruders used for pyrolysis. The reactor is spun such that the direction of travel of
Figure 9 below shows velocity along the x direction on the cross section of the flow on
the xy plane. The fluid modeled here is water, and the auger is rotating at -5 RPM along the
x-axis. This figure shows that the auger is effective in mixing the fluid as can be shown by the
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The heat transfer with the mixing of the auger proved challenging to model. The heat
transfer was therefore modeled without the auger. To compensate for the mixing, the walls of the
auger were rotated, and a 50% setting of k-epsilon turbulence was used as a boundary condition
at both the inlet and outlet of the reactor. The walls were spinned at much higher angular
velocities. These were 10 RPM at the core and -50 RPM at the outer wall surface. A comparison
of the velocity profile of these two models is shown in the following figure. Note that though the
wall rotations are at relatively high angular velocities in the simplified model, an angular
Figure 10: Velocity Magnitude Profile for the cross sections of both models of
the reactor. Left: model with auger. Right: model with spinning walls.
This simplified model was then used to visualize the temperature distribution along the
reactor assuming a homogeneous liquid. Figure 10 (above) shows the temperature distribution of
the liquid along the reactor with the boundary conditions described above. The top half shows
the temperature distribution of polypropylene (PP) and the bottom half shows the temperature
distribution of liquid water. Polypropylene was chosen to be compared with water because PP
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has the lowest thermal conductivity of the different types of plastics that will enter the reactor,
thus ensuring a uniform temperature distribution can be reached at the end of the reactor for the
fluid in question. The properties for PP were modeled as a custom fluid with the following
properties (note the properties of HDPE and LDPE are shown in the appendix):
It is important to note that the density and viscosity of PP vary with temperature. Thus
these temperature distributions in the reactor serve only as a rough initial visualization analysis.
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Figure 11: Temperature Distribution in Simplified Reactor model with 50%
k-epsilon turbulence at the inlet and outlet as boundary conditions
Note in Figure 11 above that the temperature distribution of PP and liquid water is nearly
identical. The right-most section shown in red does show that water archives a uniform
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temperature distribution of 753 K sooner before the PP does as indicated by the merging colors
Also note that at the outer wall surface, where the heat is applied via coils wrapped
around the reactor, the temperature remains constant along this boundary layer. In reality, the
auger will have a small gap between the auger and the tube containing it. Plastic that has been
pyrolyzed into the gas and liquid phases may affect this boundary layer as it escapes either
Gravity was not taken into account in this CFD analysis. The inclination of the reactor
will thus also have an impact on the heat transfer and temperature distribution along the reactor
A copy of the most up-to-date bill of materials can be seen below in Table 5. Costs were
found by finding quotes or price of the stock needed to make each part. Links to specific parts
and suppliers are provided as well. This is a simplified list and does not include fasteners.
The weight estimation was found by using the density and volume of each part.
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Cost Weight
item QTY (USD) (lbs) related link
Parts to be Purchased
Special Order
https://screwconveyor.com/produc
6.5" ID spring 1 10 t-solutions/screw-conveyors/
ROXUL 2 in x 48 in x 24 in Mineral
Mineral Wool Insulation (2 in x 48 in x 24 in Wool High Temperature Insulation,
Mineral Wool High Temperature Insulation, Density Density 8#, Green - 19NE78|40205 -
8#, Green) 17 307.7 156.4 Grainger
ROXUL 4 in x 48 in x 24 in Mineral
Mineral Wool Insulation (4 in x 48 in x 24 in Wool High Temperature Insulation,
Mineral Wool High Temperature Insulation, Density Density 8#, Green - 19NE80|40225 -
8#, Green) 17 723.86 302.6 Grainger
Parts to be Fabricated
item 2-5 (10 ft 316ss 3"x3"x1/4" angle) cont. 1 305.8 15 Metals Depot® - 316L Stainless
42
Angle | Shop Online!
item 11 (8" 316ss pipe) 1 463.11 13.1 Buy Pipe Online (onlinemetals.com)
https://www.onlinemetals.com/en
item 17 (0.04" Aluminum Sheet 6061-T6) 144"x48" 5 1031.2 137 /buy/aluminum-sheet-plate
The development of this plastic pyrolysis plant design will have both environmental and
economic impacts on society. As of 2017, 348 million tons of plastic are produced globally and it
is estimated that this number will quadruple by the year 2050 (Qureshi et al., 2020). The amount
of plastic produced for our society will only increase, so a new technology has to be developed to
lessen its environmental impact on the planet. Currently, plastic waste is either mechanically
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recycled, left in landfills, or incinerated. However, only a small amount of plastic waste can be
mechanically recycled because it has to be sorted and washed first, and only homogenous and
high quality materials can be processed in this way. Pyrolysis of plastic waste would be able to
recycle those plastics that are more heterogeneous and are multi-layered since through the
process the waste gases are collected. A study was done in Finland using life cycle assessment
(LCA), and it was found that through the combination of mechanical and chemical recycling, the
carbon footprint of plastic landfilling can be reduced by up to 67% to 76% (Qureshi et al., 2020).
The downside of pyrolysis is that it does result in a release of CO2. A solution for these CO2
emissions is that they can be mitigated with CO2 scrubbers. However, the amount of CO2
emitted from pyrolysis has been found to be 1/30th the amount that a normal landfill releases. In
addition to this, pyrolysis does not emit harmful dioxins as are released from the incineration of
plastics (Resynergi).
petro-chemical and plastic industries. However, one of the major roadblocks in commercializing
this kind of technology is the legislative aspect. The framework for policies related to circular
economy, waste management, product safety, and fuels can be complex and extensive. Therefore,
even once the technology for plastic pyrolysis has been perfected and fabricated, it will still take
some time before it can be commercialized and globalized, especially since these laws and
This plant will allow for approximately 3,650 tons of plastic waste to be converted into
oil per year. Though pyrolysis plants have been created before, this is one of the first to be used
for plastic waste. This will make a noticeable change in plastic waste disposal but this single
plant will not solve the plastic waste crisis alone. It is hoped that successful operation of this
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pilot plant will encourage future investment in the creation of more plastic pyrolysis plants and
The profitability of this plant comes both from the oil that it creates and the disposal of
plastic. This being the first plastic pyrolysis plant of its kind will allow GCES to have an
advantage in the market for plastic disposal. In addition to the profit made from companies
paying for plastic disposal, that plastic can be converted into 15,586 lbs of oil per day or
5,588,890 lbs per year. Based on the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the current price
prediction for 2022 is $60.494 per barrel and therefore the plant would earn 1.13 million U.S.
dollars. This results in not only a positive environmental impact but a plant that is highly
profitable.
9. Shortcomings
Over the course of the year, the true scale of this project became more apparent. Because
of this, the scope of the project had to be narrowed on several different occasions resulting in a
more achievable goal of designing the reactor. As time progressed, certain aspects of the reactor
were finished, however, other aspects did not see the attention they truly needed. Below is a list
of known shortcomings.
10. Conclusion
During the process of designing a full-scale pyrolysis plant, the initial heat calculations
were needed as a baseline to decide how this plant would operate and if it was feasible. With
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these calculations established, the process flow diagram and piping and instrumentation diagram
were then created as a schematic representation of the pyrolysis plant design. Then the CAD
model and CFD analysis were done while simultaneously contacting companies to find parts and
instruments for this pyrolysis plant to be created. Each of these steps allowed the group to apply
the knowledge that was gained over their time studying engineering. This additionally allowed
the group to expand upon that knowledge through working with a company and creating a real
The creation of this pyrolysis plant will allow for millions of pounds of plastic to be
recycled every year. With this plant demonstrating a safe, efficient and profitable means of
recycling plastic, this should allow for additional plants to be created. With enough plastic
pyrolysis plants being created at a large scale, this technology should greatly improve the plastic
waste crisis in the United States and the world. After this plant successfully demonstrates the
technology can be used at an industrial scale, the plant could be improved by implementing a
more complex reactor such as the fluidized bed reactor or conical spouted reactor, which could
improve the production rate and offer a more uniform heat transfer distribution of the pyrolyzed
plastic.
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12. References
Arabiourrutia, M., Elordi, G., Olazar, M., & Bilbao, J. (2017). Pyrolysis of Polyolefins in a
IntechOpen. doi:10.5772/67706
What is a pyrolysis rotary kiln reactor and what are its advantages? Retrieved April 18,
2021, from
https://www.recyclingpyrolysisplant.com/FAQ/pyrolysis_plant/pyrolysis_rotary_kiln_rea
ctor_860.html
https://resynergi.com/faq#:~:text=What%20are%20the%20benefits%20of,fuels%20and%
20virgin%20plastic%20resins.
Fluidized bed reactor. (2021, March 10). Retrieved April 18, 2021, from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluidized_bed_reactor
IEA Bioenergy. (n.d.). Pyrolysis Reactors. Retrieved April 18, 2021, from
https://task34.ieabioenergy.com/pyrolysis-reactors/
INEOS - Olefins & Polymers USA. (2014, April). [Typical Engineering Properties of
Lewandowski, W. M., Ryms, M., & Kosakowski, W. (2020). Thermal biomass conversion:A
47
Qureshi, M. S., Oasmaa, A., Pihkola, H., Deviatkin, I., Tenhunen, A., Mannila, J., . . .
https://www.makeitfrom.com/material-properties
U.S. energy Information administration - eia - independent statistics and analysis. (n.d.).
https://www.eia.gov/opendata/qb.php?category=1039852&sdid=STEO.BREPUUS.A
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13. Appendices
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13.2. Heating method ideas
Figure 12: Initial Concepts for Pyrolysis Reactor. Note that the gas out tubes would not be
connected to 90° elbows as shown in this figure. It was also found that Concept 2 infringes on
a patent, so it does not present a viable heating method.
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13.3. Additional CFD images
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Figure 14: Flow of Water through Reactor without Auger. The outer wall is
rotating at 10 RPM while the core is rotating at -50 RPM to simulate the flow
with the auger.
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13.4. Responsibilities Table
53
13.5. Resumes
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David Jeremiah Lont
Education
Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI Exp. graduation: Aug. 2021
B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, minor in Mathematics GPA: 3.77
Work Experience
WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY, Kalamazoo, MI
Undergraduate Research Assistant May 2019 - August 2019
● Investigated alongside Ph.D. students in the Fluid Mechanics Lab the effects of wind on the evaporation
rate of water as it is heated to describe this relationship mathematically
● Analyzed the characteristics of the air-water interface using particle image velocimetry (PIV)
● Created program using MATLAB to prepare, analyze, and concatenate data for study
● Redesigned diffuser of wind tunnel to provide laminar flow necessary for the experiment
● Improved seeding for PIV by redesigning olive oil diffusing system
Tutor/Learning Assistant August 2018 - Present
● Increase student comprehension and retention rate through personalized review sessions
● Teach material with emphasis on concepts difficult for students to master
● Guide students in finding the adequate resources to succeed in their college career
● Collaborate with professors weekly to tailor review sessions to meet the professors’ needs
LOWE’S, Kalamazoo, MI
Seasonal Cashier/Back end Receiver June 2020 - August 2020
● Adapted to a fast-paced and demanding environment to meet the needs of the store
● Coordinated truck arrival schedule and loading dock traffic to ensure efficient stocking of the store
STARBUCKS, Kalamazoo, MI
Barista May 2018 - September 2018
● Maintained customer satisfaction by placing customers first with speed and accuracy
● Multi-tasked taking customers’ orders while efficiently and accurately handling beverages
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