Hydrogen from the two-stage pyrolysis of bituminous coal/waste plastics mixtures

The possibility of hydrogen production from waste plastics by a two-stage pyrolysis was verified on the laboratory scale. The samples of bituminous coal from the Lazy Mine alone and mixed samples of coal with an admixture of waste plastics in the amounts of 15 and 20wt.% were pyrolysed. The influence of the admixture of plastics in the charge on the hydrogen content of the pyrolytic gas as well as the influence of the thermal-degradation module on the amount and composition of the gas created were evaluated. The possibility of the subsequent increase of the hydrogen content by gasification of the solid product of pyrolysis was experimentally verified. ► Pyrolytic gas with a hydrogen content of up to 80 vol.% was obtained. ► The hydrogen bound in polymer chains almost quantitatively converts into gaseous hydrogen. ► By gasification of the solid share we acquire syngas with a hydrogen content of ca 58 vol.%.