LAUSR

Polypropylene (PP) with three different molecular weights (weight‐average molecular weights of 12 000 (PP12); 250 000 (PP250); and 340 000 (PP340)) was pyrolyzed to investigate the effect of its molecular weight on the production of fuel‐range chemicals. The pyrolytic gaseous products from the PP pyrolysis primarily consisted of non‐condensable hydrocarbons such as methane, ethane, ethylene, propane, and propylene. The non‐condensable hydrocarbon yields obtained with PP250 and PP340 were comparable at all tested pyrolysis temperatures (eg, 4.4 wt% at 800°C) and 20% higher than the yield obtained with PP12. An increase in the pyrolysis temperature resulted in non‐condensable hydrocarbon yields for all three PP plastics. In addition, hydrocarbons with wider carbon number ranges (eg, gasoline‐, jet fuel‐, diesel‐, and motor oil‐range hydrocarbons) were produced in the pyrolysis of PP. The yields of the gasoline‐, jet fuel‐, and diesel‐range hydrocarbons obtained from PP250 and PP340 were higher than those obtained from PP12 at pyrolysis temperatures from 500°C to 800°C. The pyrolysis of PP250 yielded 37.7 wt% gasoline‐, 38.6 wt% jet fuel‐, 45.1 wt% diesel‐, and 11 wt% motor oil‐range hydrocarbons. The results of this study can contribute to the development of plastic waste‐to‐energy methods.