Waste Plastic-Biofeed Blending With Chloride Removal for Refinery Feed
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for recycling polyethylene and polypropylene waste plastics into value-added chemicals and fuels face challenges due to the presence of chloride, which causes corrosion in refinery equipment and results in poor quality fuel products, limiting the ability to recycle large volumes effectively.
Innovation Solution
A process to create a stable blend of waste plastic and petroleum feedstock with minimal chloride content by heating, filtering, and treating with a chloride removal guard bed, ensuring the blend contains less than 100 ppm chloride, allowing safe feeding to refinery units for conversion into high-value products.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If waste plastic is fed directly to refinery units, then recycling volume can be high, but chloride causes corrosion of refinery equipment and poor quality fuel products
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-treating waste plastic through heating to melt and dissolve the plastic in petroleum feedstock before entering the refinery. This preliminary processing step prepares the plastic for safe entry into refinery equipment by reducing chloride content and improving compatibility, thereby enabling high recycling volumes without causing corrosion damage to refinery equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses petroleum feedstock as an intermediary medium to dissolve and transport waste plastic into the refinery system. The petroleum feedstock acts as a carrier that facilitates the integration of waste plastic with refinery processes, allowing the plastic to be processed without directly contacting chloride-sensitive refinery equipment, thus preventing corrosion while maintaining high processing volumes.
2Ease of manufacture
If pyrolysis is used to convert waste plastic, then chemical recycling is achieved, but product quality is poor and quantity is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by modifying the temperature and pressure conditions during the plastic dissolution and processing stages. By controlling these parameters, the patent achieves optimal dissolution of waste plastic in petroleum feedstock, producing high-quality fuel products that meet refinery specifications, thereby improving manufacturing precision while maintaining ease of chemical recycling.
3Productivity
If large volumes of waste plastic are recycled, then environmental impact is reduced, but chloride content in blend increases causing equipment corrosion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the extraction principle by removing chloride and other harmful impurities from the waste plastic through selective dissolution and filtration processes. By extracting these harmful factors before the plastic enters the refinery system, the patent enables large-volume recycling while maintaining low chloride content in the final blend, thus preventing equipment corrosion.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The process enables efficient recycling of waste plastics into high-value fuels and chemicals with good yields, reducing energy consumption and environmental impact while maintaining refinery equipment integrity.
Implementation Method 1
heating the plastic above the melting point of the plastic while vigorously mixing with a petroleum feedstock
Implementation Method 2
The hot blend is filtered to remove contaminants such as glass, metal, PVC or other plastics with a low solubility
Implementation Method 3
heating the filtered blend of feedstock and plastic to a temperature sufficient to decompose residual PVC
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a blend of a bio-feed and 1-20 wt. % of plastic, based on the weight of the blend, with the plastic comprising polyethylene and/or polypropylene, and the plastic in the blend comprising finely dispersed microcrystalline particles having an average particle size of 10 micron to less than 100 microns, and less than 10 ppm chloride. A process for preparing a blend of plastic and bio-feed is provided, comprising mixing together a bio-feed and a plastic comprising polyethylene and/or polypropylene and heating the mixture above the melting point of the plastic, but less than 500° F. The blend mixture is then hot filtered with the resulting filtered blend mixture being heated to at least 500° F. The heated mixture can then be treated with a chloride removal guard bed. The resulting blend can then be cooled and stored or sent directly to a refinery conversion unit.