IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/renene/v256y2026ipds0960148125017392.html

Catalytic pyrolysis of waste thermocol using rice husk ash and zeolite: A sustainable approach for hydrocarbon recovery and renewable fuel production

Author

Listed:
  • Elangkathir, V.
  • Premkumar, P.
  • Saravanan, C.G.
  • Nalluri, Premdasu
  • Josephin JS, Femilda
  • Varuvel, Edwin Geo

Abstract

The piling up of waste thermocol (polystyrene) is causing environmental issues due to its non-biodegradable properties. Conventional disposal methods are ineffective, necessitating eco-friendly approaches for degrading waste thermocol (WT) into useful hydrocarbons as alternative fuels. This study investigates the catalytic pyrolysis of WT using rice husk ash (RHC) and zeolite (ZeC) as catalysts. Thermal degradation was conducted at 224–410 °C, yielding 62 % liquid, 21 % gas and 17 % solid residue after 100 min. The catalytic influence of RHC and ZeC was evaluated at a 0.1 catalyst-to-polymer ratio. RHC reduced the degradation temperature to 190–370 °C, increasing liquid yield to 76 % with complete conversion in 80 min. ZeC further lowered the conversion temperature to 170–320 °C, achieving complete degradation in 60 min with a 49 % liquid product and 51 % gas yield. Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy (NMR) analysis revealed that RHC-derived waste thermocol oil (WTCO) contained both aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons, whereas ZeC-derived WTCO was predominantly aromatic hydrocarbons. Both exhibited fuel-like properties, with calorific content and density comparable to diesel. The findings emphasize the importance of catalyst selection in maximizing hydrocarbon recovery, demonstrating waste thermocol's potential as a renewable fuel source.

Suggested Citation

  • Elangkathir, V. & Premkumar, P. & Saravanan, C.G. & Nalluri, Premdasu & Josephin JS, Femilda & Varuvel, Edwin Geo, 2026. "Catalytic pyrolysis of waste thermocol using rice husk ash and zeolite: A sustainable approach for hydrocarbon recovery and renewable fuel production," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 256(PD).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:256:y:2026:i:pd:s0960148125017392
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2025.124075
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148125017392
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.renene.2025.124075?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nizami, A.S. & Ouda, O.K.M. & Rehan, M. & El-Maghraby, A.M.O. & Gardy, J. & Hassanpour, A. & Kumar, S. & Ismail, I.M.I., 2016. "The potential of Saudi Arabian natural zeolites in energy recovery technologies," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 162-171.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yazeed Abdullah Almahraj, 2023. "British press coverage of international sports events hosted by Saudi Arabia: content analysis study in light of country concept model," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-9, December.
    2. Khan, Shoaib Raza & Zeeshan, Muhammad, 2022. "Catalytic potential of low-cost natural zeolite and influence of various pretreatments of biomass on pyro-oil up-gradation during co-pyrolysis with scrap rubber tires," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(PB).
    3. Hanxi Wang & Jianling Xu & Lianxi Sheng & Xuejun Liu & Meihan Zong & Difu Yao, 2019. "Anaerobic Digestion Technology for Methane Production Using Deer Manure Under Different Experimental Conditions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-21, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:256:y:2026:i:pd:s0960148125017392. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/renewable-energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.