Steam cracking of polypropylene for the production of light olefins in a fountain confined conical spouted bed reactor (Open Access)--颗粒学报PARTICUOLOGY

Mollick, M., Santamaria, L., Wang, Z., Comendador, P., Artetxe, M., Fernandez, E., . . . Lopez, G. (2025). Steam cracking of polypropylene for the production of light olefins in a fountain confined conical spouted bed reactor. Particuology, 103, 206-216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.partic.2025.05.018

Steam cracking of polypropylene for the production of light olefins in a fountain confined conical spouted bed reactor (Open Access)

Manomita Mollick^a, Laura Santamaria^a, Ziliang Wang^b, Pablo Comendador^a, Maite Artetxe^a, Enara Fernandez^a, Martin Olazar^a, Gartzen Lopez^{a c *}

a Department of Chemical Engineering, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, P.O. Box 644, E48080 Bilbao, Spain
b National Engineering Laboratory for Reducing Emissions from Coal Combustion, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan, 250061, China
c IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Spain

10.1016/j.partic.2025.05.018

Volume 103, August 2025, Pages 206-216

Received 21 February 2025, Revised 6 May 2025, Accepted 23 May 2025, Available online 30 May 2025, Version of Record 10 June 2025.

E-mail: gartzen.lopez@ehu.es; gartzen.lopez@ehu.eus

Highlights

• Fountain confined conical spouted bed reactor is suitable for plastics steam cracking.

• Upcycling PP via steam cracking proves to be similar to naphtha cracking.

• Propylene and ethylene productions (21.8 and 16.5 wt%) were high at 750 °C.

• BTX fraction (14.0 wt%) was mainly composed of benzene (7.5 wt%).

Abstract

This paper presents an alternative approach for plastic waste valorization in a fountain confined conical spouted bed reactor. The study evaluates the application of an upgraded spouted bed design for the steam cracking of polypropylene (PP) at 750 °C, focusing on high value added products. The highly efficient cracking process results in a high gas yield of 80.9 wt%. This stream is composed of H₂, CO, CO₂, C₁-C₄ paraffins and C₂-C₄ olefins, with the latter reaching a total yield of 49.2 wt%. Among the light olefins, propylene (21.8 wt%) and ethylene (16.5 wt%) are the most relevant. Interestingly, a remarkable yield of the valuable BTX fraction was obtained, 14.0 wt%, with benzene being the predominant compound. The reactor configuration and excellent control of process conditions enhanced light olefins yield by β-scission and radical mechanism, promoting the formation of light hydrocarbons, as well as minimizing secondary oligomerization and reforming reactions. This study is a proof of the viability of steam cracking in a fountain confined spouted bed reactor for converting PP into valuable chemical intermediates, as well as the viability of this technology for industrial application in waste plastic valorization.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Spouted bed; Steam cracking; Light olefins; Plastic waste; BTX

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