Thermal Treatment of Polyethylene in System Containing Hydrogen Chloride

The pyrolysis of high-density polyethylene (HDPE), the principal component of plastics in municipal solid waste, was studied in the thermal gravimetric analysis reaction system containing hydrogen chloride (HCl) gas. The pyrolysis experiments were carried out over a range of room temperatures to 850 K. The results indicated that HCl retarded the pyrolytic reaction of HDPE at high HCl concentration CHCl range. The gas/liquid products and solid residues were collected and analyzed by gas chromatography, mass spectrometer, and elemental analyzer. The distributions of gas/liquid products and solid residues as well as the effects of HCl on the pyrolytic products were investigated. The results of this study are useful for the utilization of HDPE as an energy resource and determining the thermal degradation behavior of HDPE in an incinerator.