Quantification of tire wear particles in road dust from industrial and residential areas in Seoul, Korea

In this study, we examined tire and road wear microparticles (TRWMPs) in road dust along the Seoul metropolitan area, from industrial and residential areas. The road dust samples were collected via vacuum sweep methods and then filtered to obtain particles with diameters less than 75 μm. To quantify the TRWMPs in road dust, we used the raw materials of tire components, natural rubber (NR), and styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), as standard materials. We evaluated the usability of the pyrolyzer-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry py-GC/MS method introduced in ISO/TS 20593 by confirming the decomposition temperatures of the NR and SBR by thermogravimetric (TG) and evolved gas analysis (EGA)-MS. The average of TRWMPs in industrial and residential area road dust were 22,581 and 9818 μg/g, respectively, indicating that the industrial area has 2.5 times higher TRWMPs concentration. Further, the NR, the main component of truck bus radial, to SBR, the main component of passenger car radial, ratio was slightly higher in the industrial area than in the residential area. This presumably means that the high traffic volume, including heavy duty vehicles in industrial areas, affected the higher concentration of TRWMPs. This study reveals the growing evidence of the importance of TRWMPs in road dust and how TRWMPs quantity can impact the air quality of the Seoul metropolitan area.

BTEX recovery from waste rubbers by catalytic pyrolysis over Zn loaded tire derived char

Recovering valuable chemicals (BTEX: Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene) via catalytic pyrolysis of waste tires is a promising and sustainable approach. Zinc loaded tire derived char (TDC) was used as cheap catalyst for recovering valuable BTEX products from waste tire through pyrolysis in this study. The catalytic capability of TDC on BTEX production were experimentally investigated with respect to Zn content, catalytic temperature, and catalyst-to-tire ratio. Due to the abundant acid sites on the surface, the TDC showed notable catalytic capability for improving BTEX yield which was 2.4 times higher than that from uncatalyzed case. The loading of additional Zn increased the acid sites on the TDC and the catalytic performance was further improved. The increase of catalytic temperature and catalyst-to-tire ratio favored the formation of BTEX, but it also brought undesirable consequences, such as the mass loss of tire pyrolysis oil (TPO) and the formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The optimal TPO products were obtained at 600 °C with catalyst-to-tire ratio of 20. At this condition, the relative content of BTEX reached 54.70% and the cumulative BTEX yield was 10.13 wt%, increasing by 5.95 times compared to that of non-catalytic condition. This work provided a novel strategy of replacing traditional expensive catalysts with low-cost and effective carbon-based materials in the field of catalytic pyrolysis of waste tires.

Direct Gas-Phase Derivatization by Employing Tandem μ-Reactor-Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry: Case Study of Trifluoroacetylation of 4,4'-Methylenedianiline

Pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) is a promising technique allowing the rapid characterization of the polymer structure and additives of microgram-scale plastics. However, the Py-GC/MS analysis of polymers with urethane bonds is challenging because they produce highly reactive pyrolyzates such as amines and isocyanates polymerizing in the GC column, which limits the efforts to elucidate the pyrolysis mechanism and plastic characterization by online GC analysis. Herein, a novel pyrolysis-gas-phase derivatization-GC/MS (Py-GPD-GC/MS) technique was developed, allowing the pyrolysis of polymers and the subsequent direct gas-phase derivatization of pyrolyzates, employing a modified tandem μ-reactor-GC/MS system. This work conducted the gas-phase trifluoroacetylation of 4,4'-methylenedianiline (MDA), which is one of the major polyurethane (PU) pyrolyzates, using N-methyl-bis-trifluoroacetamide (MBTFA) as a derivatization agent. The trifluoroacetylation gas-phase reaction was monitored by in situ GC/MS analysis and the effects of derivatization conditions were investigated. The highest MDA conversion observed was 65.6 area %. Furthermore, the sequential PU pyrolysis and direct trifluoroacetylation of PU pyrolyzates in the first μ-reactor and second μ-reactor, respectively, were successfully operated, achieving the inhibited polymerization and detection of trifluoroacetylated derivatives. Thus, the Py-GPD-GC/MS method has a significant potential to be applied for other combinations of pyrolyzates and derivatization reactions, enabling deeper characterization of plastics producing highly reactive pyrolyzates that cannot be accurately analyzed by conventional Py-GC/MS analysis.

Co-pyrolysis of biomass and plastic waste over zeolite- and sodium-based catalysts for enhanced yields of hydrocarbon products

Ex-situ co-pyrolysis of sugarcane bagasse pith and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was investigated over zeolite-based catalysts using a tandem micro-reactor at an optimised temperature of 700 °C. A combination of zeolite (HZSM-5) and sodium carbonate/gamma-alumina served as effective catalysts for 18% more oxygen removal than HZSM-5 alone. The combined catalysts led to improved yields of aromatic (8.7%) and olefinic (6.9%) compounds. Carbon yields of 20.3% total aromatics, 18.3% BTXE (benzene, toluene, xylenes and ethylbenzene), 17% olefins, and 7% phenols were achieved under optimal conditions of 700 °C, a pith (biomass) to PET ratio of 4 and an HZSM-5 to sodium carbonate/gamma-alumina ratio of 5. The catalytic presence of sodium prevented coke formation, which has been a major cause of deactivation of zeolite catalysts during co-pyrolysis of biomass and plastics. This finding indicates that the catalyst combination as well as biomass/plastic mixtures used in this work can lead to both high yields of valuable aromatic chemicals and potentially, extended catalyst life time.

Hydro-Pyrolysis and Catalytic Upgrading of Biomass and Its Hydroxy Residue Fast Pyrolysis Vapors

Fast pyrolysis of Miscanthus, its hydrolysis residue and lignin were carried with a pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) followed by online vapor catalytic upgrading with sulfated ZrO2, sulfated TiO2 and sulfated 60 wt.% ZrO2-TiO2. The most evident influence of the catalyst on the vapor phase composition was observed for aromatic hydrocarbons, light phenols and heavy phenols. A larger amount of light phenols was detected, especially when 60 wt.% ZrO2-TiO2 was present. Thus, a lower average molecular weight and lower viscosity of bio-oil could be obtained with this catalyst. Pyrolysis was also performed at different pressures of hydrogen. The pressure of H2 has a great effect on the overall yield and the composition of biomass vapors. The peak area percentages of both aromatic hydrocarbons and cyclo-alkanes are enhanced with the increasing of H2 pressure. The overall yields are higher with the addition of either H2 or sulfated catalysts. This is beneficial as phenols are valuable chemicals, thus, increasing the value of bio-oil. The results show that the hydrolysis residue has the potential to become a resource for phenol production.

Hydrogen and steam injected tandem μ-reactor GC/FID system: phenol recovery from bisphenol A and alkylphenols using Ni/Y zeolite

Hydrogen and steam injected tandem μ-reactor-GC/FID system achieved online quantification of products from hydrogenation and dealkylation of bisphenol A and alkylphenols using Ni/Y zeolite.

Selective phenol recovery via simultaneous hydrogenation/dealkylation of isopropyl- and isopropenyl-phenols employing an H2 generator combined with tandem micro-reactor GC/MS

The pyrolysis of bisphenol A (BPA), an essential process ingredient used in industry and many everyday life products, helps produce low-industrial-demand chemicals such as isopropenyl- and isopropyl-phenols (IPP and iPrP). In this study, tandem micro-reactor gas chromatography/mass spectrometry combined with an H₂ generator (H₂-TR-GC/MS) was employed for the first time to investigate the selective recovery of phenol via simultaneous hydrogenation/dealkylation of IPP and iPrP. After investigating the iPrP dealkylation performances of several zeolites, we obtained full iPrP conversion with over 99% phenol selectivity using the Y-zeolite at 350 °C. In contrast, when applied to IPP, the zeolite acid centres caused IPP polymerisation and subsequent IPP-polymer cracking, resulting in many byproducts and reduced phenol selectivity. This challenge was overcome by the addition of 0.3 wt% Ni on the Y-zeolite (0.3Ni/Y), which enabled the hydrogenation of IPP into iPrP and subsequent dealkylation into phenol (full IPP conversion with 92% phenol selectivity). Moreover, the catalyst deactivation and product distribution over repetitive catalytic use were successfully monitored using the H₂-TR-GC/MS system. We believe that the findings presented herein could allow the recovery of phenol-rich products from polymeric waste with BPA macro skeleton.

Fates of hemicellulose, lignin and cellulose in concentrated phosphoric acid with hydrogen peroxide (PHP) pretreatment

Xylan, de-alkaline lignin and microcrystalline cellulose were employed as representative models of hemicellulose, lignin and cellulose in lignocellulosic biomass. These three model compounds, together with the real-world biomass, wheat straw were pretreated using the newly developed PHP pretreatment (concentrated phosphoric acid plus hydrogen peroxide) to better understand the structural changes of the recovered solid and chemical fractions in the liquid. Results showed that almost all xylan and higher than 70% lignin were removed from wheat straw, and more than 90% cellulose was recovered in the solid fraction. The pretreated model xylan recovered via ethanol-precipitation still maintained its original structural features. The degree of polymerization of soluble xylooligosaccharides in liquid was reduced, resulting in the increase of monomeric xylose release. Further xylose oxidization via the path of 2-furancarboxylic acid → 2(5H)-furanone → acrylic acid → formic acid was mainly responsible for xylan degradation. The chemical structure of de-alkaline lignin was altered significantly by PHP pretreatment. Basic guaiacyl units of lignin were depolymerized, and aromatic rings and side aliphatic chains were partially decomposed. Ring-opening reactions of the aromatics and cleavage of C–O–C linkages were two crucial paths to lignin oxidative degradation. In contrast to lignin, no apparent changes occurred on microcrystalline cellulose. The reason was likely that acid-depolymerization and oxidative degradation of cellulose were greatly prevented by the formed cellulose phosphate.

The transformation of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin in lignocellulosic biomass in a novel pretreatment are elucidated based on model fractions.

Tandem μ-reactor-GC/MS for online monitoring of aromatic hydrocarbon production via CaO-catalysed PET pyrolysis

Online monitoring of products by a tandem μ-reactor-GC/MS system revealed the CaO catalysed PET pyrolysis pathway.