Plastic-Petroleum Blend Filtration for Low-Chloride Refinery Feed
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for recycling polyethylene and polypropylene waste plastics into value-added chemicals and fuels are inefficient, producing low-quality products and are limited by the presence of chlorides that cause corrosion in refinery equipment.
Innovation Solution
A process to prepare a stable blend of waste plastic and petroleum feedstock with minimal chloride content by heating, filtering, and using a chloride removal guard bed, resulting in a homogeneous mixture that can be safely fed to refinery units.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If waste plastic is fed directly to refinery units, then recycling efficiency is improved, but chloride content causes corrosion of refinery equipment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-treating waste plastic through heating to melt and filter out chlorinated substances before the plastic enters refinery units. This preliminary purification step removes harmful chlorides while maintaining the ability to efficiently recycle large volumes of waste plastic, thus resolving the contradiction between recycling efficiency and equipment corrosion.
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 changes the processing parameters by using controlled heating at specific temperature ranges (150-500°C) followed by filtration, rather than conventional pyrolysis. This parameter modification enables the production of high-quality fuel components while maintaining chemical recycling capabilities, resolving the contradiction between ease of manufacture and product quality.
3Quantity of substance
If large volumes of waste plastic are recycled, then environmental impact is reduced, but chloride contamination increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes chlorinated substances from the waste plastic stream through filtration after heating. This extraction process allows large volumes of waste plastic to be recycled while systematically eliminating chloride contamination that would otherwise accumulate and cause corrosion in refinery equipment.
4Productivity
If waste plastic is heated to high temperatures, then conversion to hydrocarbons is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements continuous heating followed by continuous filtration in a streamlined process that maintains optimal temperature ranges without excessive energy input. The continuous operation ensures complete conversion of waste plastic to hydrocarbons while minimizing energy consumption through efficient heat management and immediate removal of chlorinated byproducts.
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 products like gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel fuel, while minimizing equipment damage and improving energy efficiency, with hydrocarbon yields up to 98% and reduced environmental impact.
Implementation Method 1
heating the mixture above the melting point of the plastic
Implementation Method 2
filtering, and using a chloride removal guard bed
Implementation Method 3
pyrolyzed in a pyrolysis unit to make fuels
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a blend of a petroleum feedstock 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 petroleum is provided, comprising mixing together a petroleum 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.