Chemical recycling of plastics

Chemical recycling of plastics through pyrolysis and gasification is one of the new frontiers of sustainability in the chemical and petrochemical industry. In fact, it is possible to produce from heterogeneous mixtures of different polymers both hydrocarbon products and synthesis gases (syngas), the starting point for many products of the petrochemical industry without using new fossil resources for the production of new polymers. Chemical recycling is of particular interest for all wastes for which mechanical recycling, requiring upstream separation, is not feasible such as multi-layer materials or composite materials (e.g. polyesters/carbon fibers). This thesis aims to develop detailed kinetic models for the thermal degradation of plastics, with particular attention to possible interactions between polymers containing heteroatoms of various nature (PVC/PET, PET/PA, etc.).