Document Type
Honors Thesis
Abstract
Plastic waste continues to accumulate as production increases and disposal methods remain insufficient. Even with recycling programs in place, much of the discarded plastic still ends up in landfills or waterways, eventually breaking down into harmful microplastics. One promising solution is the conversion of plastic waste into pyrolysis oil, which can also serve as an alternative feedstock for chemicals. Pyrolysis oil is produced by heating plastics to approximately 800 °C in the absence of oxygen, resulting in a complex mixture of hydrocarbons that includes paraffins, isoparaffins, olefins, naphthenes, and aromatics. Analyzing the amount of oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur in these hydrocarbons is important for further refining and processing.
To study the oil’s composition, two instruments were used: Supercritical fluid chromatography with fraction collection (SFC-FC) and gas chromatography combined with mass spectrometry and vacuum ultraviolet spectroscopy (GC-MS/VUV). Previous SFC work revealed unique fingerprint regions that could distinguish whether the oil came from polyethylene or polypropylene. By integrating both SFC and GC-(MS/VUV), this study provides an overview of the characterization of pyrolysis oils highlighting multiple techniques to simplify the oils and provide identification of the compounds present in the oils.
Disciplines
Analytical Chemistry | Biochemistry
Publication Date
2025
Faculty Mentor of Honors Project
Dr Kevin A Schug
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Morshed, Sadid, "IDENTIFYING THE CONSTITUENTS OF PYROLYSIS OIL USING SUPERCRITICAL FLUID CHROMATOGRAPHY- FRACTION COLLECTION (SFC-FC) AND GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY- MASS SPECTROMETRY/VACUUM ULTRAVIOLET SPECTROSCOPY (GC-MS/VUV)" (2025). 2025 Fall Honors Capstones Projects. 31.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/honors_fall2025/31