(564b) Application of the Advanced Distillation Curve Method to Characeterize Two Alternative Transportation Fuels Prepared from the Pyrolysis of Waste Plastic

The properties of alternative fuels must be evaluated to determine their suitability for use in existing engines, either as blends with conventional petroleum products or as stand-alone substitutions (that is, drop in replacements). Alternative fuels made from waste feedstocks are especially attractive since they address the dual purpose of fuel production and mitigation of environmental pollution environmental concerns. In this study, two alternative liquid fuels generated by pyrolysis of waste polyethylene plastic bags were assessed using a composition-explicit distillation approach, which provides a rich data matrix that includes including fuel volatility, composition, hydrocarbon classification, and energy content in each distillate volume fraction. The data collected using this approach provide valuable information for the development of equations of state to describe the thermodynamic behavior of these complex fluids. The analysis showed that, despite significant differences in composition, the distillation curves and associated data of the alternative fuels show promising similarity to their conventional counterparts.