Development of Aviation Fuel from Plastic Waste

The primary goal of this Phase I project is to demonstrate that aromatics derived from the depolymerization of waste polystyrene can be utilized as an additive in synthetic paraffinic kerosene (SPK) to allow blending at levels exceeding 50%v in jet fuel to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions significantly.Two subgoals will be pursued in Phase I to achieve the primary goal:• Development of a flexible and efficient pyrolysis reactor• Production of an ethylbenzene-enriched aromatics SAF additiveSpecific activities that will be undertaken in Phase I :1. Design and prototype an inductively heated polystyrene depolymerization reactor (IHDR)2. Validate the IHDR performance with catalysts to produce an aromatics mixture from waste polystyrene3. Adjust the aromatics product composition through catalyst choice, fractionation, and onsite low-temperature, low-pressure hydrogenation to increase the concentration of ethylbenzene4. Evaluate the resulting product for use as an aromatics additive at a 9-15 v% blend in SPKThe advantages of the proposed technology development include1. The proposed induction reactor design overcomes the limitations of the state-of-the-art pyrolysis reactors through (a) substituting conduction-based heat transfer with volumetric heating, (b) reducing thermal gradients, (c) preserving control over residence time (near plug flow), (d) enabling thermal staging and product take-offs.2. The use of appropriate catalyst, fractionation, and the development of a low-temperature low-pressure onsite hydrogenator will result in an ethylbenzene-enriched product that will help increase SPK blending volumes, reduce Jet Fuel use, and facilitate the distributed manufacture of SAF.