Application of pyrolysis in dealing with end-of-life vehicular products: a case study on car bumpers

摘要

With the increasing number of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs), the number of old car bumpers is also on the rise. After being crushed, small particles are granulated and utilized as raw materials for new bumpers. However, this method cannot satisfy the present demand for bumpers because of the increased amount of polymers. Pyrolysis is a good method to deal with old bumpers. The energy generated from the process can be reused. The necessity for bumper paint removal is discussed in this study. Removing paint before pyrolysis could largely reduce the generation of harmful gases such as benzene and toluene. This study established 600 degrees C as the optimal temperature for dealing with bumper particles without paint in consideration of the heat value of syngas and the economic cost. At 600 degrees C, the heat values generated by the gas mixtures reached 8.29 kJ, which is far greater than the heat values generated at 550 degrees C or 650 degrees C. Lastly, the generation and characterization of tar and char was analyzed. The element content of char was analyzed using XRF and the proportion of carbon (75.9%) is much more than the other elements. The resulting char can be utilized as raw materials for special substances. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.