LAUSR

In this study, NiO reduction behavior was investigated in the gas atmosphere generated by polypropylene (PP) pyrolysis to reveal the feasibility of using polypropylene as a reducing agent precursor for metal oxides. Chemical equilibrium calculations were performed to guide the experimental studies and to better understand the processes. PP fibers and NiO powder were simultaneously heated to 600–900 K in a tubular reactor. During heating, the PP was pyrolyzed into the gaseous species as indicated by the mass measurements. NiO was reduced to Ni by the pyrolytic gas carried by Ar flow. The thermodynamic calculations predicted that the pyrolytic gas consisted of mainly H2, CH4, and C6H6. The degree of NiO reduction increased with temperature and with the pyrolyzed the PP mass. The oxide reduction was complete at 800–900 K, provided that the sufficient amount of PP was pyrolyzed. The results show that NiO reduction via PP pyrolysis route is feasible.