MODEL FOR PLASTIC WASTE HANDLING IN SERBIA -

PYROLYTIC CONVERSION INTO FUEL SUBSTITUTES

Luka Latinović1

Abstract

In Serbia, large quantities of plastic waste are dumped at landfills without any control
or pretreatment and very small amount of plastic waste is recycled. There are no legal
regulations that would encourage or oblige citizens to sort their waste before throwing it out.
Therefore, plastics recycling companies rely on marginalized groups that provide for living by
collecting secondary raw material. They prefer to pick up scrap paper and metal rather than
scrap plastic due to its low purchase price. This paper finds and suggests a plastic waste
handling approach that has the potential to increase the purchase price of plastic waste and thus
involve a larger number of entities in the recycling activity. It is pyrolytic conversion of plastic
waste into fuel substitutes. This paper will briefly explain what the plastic waste pyrolysis is
and which products are obtained through that route. A method of application will be proposed
and guidelines for further research that is necessary for successful implementation of the
proposed method.

Keywords: plastic waste pyrolysis, recycling in Serbia, fuel substitutes.

1. Introduction

The plastic recycling is at inappreciable level in Serbia as less than 18% of plastic waste
is recycled, according to Association of recyclers of Serbia. Health and environmental
problems are inseparable parts of uncontrolled, and even controlled dumping of waste into
landfills. The aim of this paper is to examine potentials of another plastic waste recycling
approach. It is the plastic waste recycling by means of pyrolysis. Pyrolysis is a thermal
decomposition of materials at elevated temperatures in an inert atmosphere such as a vacuum
or an inert gas (IUPAC, 1997). Recently, Owusu, Banadda, Ahamada, Seay and Kiggundu
(2017) have been investigating the reverse engineering of plastic waste. They have concluded
that batch pyrolysis of plastic waste produced usable products such as pyrolysis oil. The
properties of oils obtained by this route were similar to commercial fuels. Marco, Caballero,
Torres et al. (2002) also concluded that pyrolysis is a very promising technique for recycling
tires, SMC, one type of ASR (automotive shredder residue), and LDPE (low-density
polyethylene), PP (polypropylene) and PS (polystyrene), either pure or mixed. This paper gives
an overview of this method and provides guidelines for further research in order to find an
adequate way of the plastic waste handling in Serbia.

1 Author: Luka Latinović, bachelor's degree student, The School of Engineering Management,
University “Union Nikola Tesla”, Belgrade, +381 63 327 223, luka@latinovic.rs
 2. Methods

Data used in economic and feasibility analysis belong to the primary and secondary
collection of data. Primary data was collected directly from first-hand experience, mainly from
direct contacting with recycling companies and individuals from the branch. Secondary data
comes from referenced literature.

3. Conventional plastic recycling in Serbia

The recycling method most commonly used in Serbia is the conversion of waste plastics
into granules which are later used for the production of plastic products. It is an expensive
process that requires large initial investments. Since granules go to further sale, it is imperative
to know the exact type of plastic and the composition of the granules which means that serious
approach to the preparation and processing of plastic waste is necessary. Furthermore, recycled
plastic is of lesser quality than newly manufactured plastic so not all products could be made
of it. In order to be successfully marketed, recycled plastic granulate must therefore have a
lower price than new plastic granulate, which is already cheap. Transport of plastic waste from
purchase stations to recycling centers also increases costs and reduce profit area. All this
combined dictated the low purchase price of plastic waste if recycling companies were to profit.
On average, the maximum price that could be obtained per kilogram of well-prepared plastic
waste amounts ≈0.25€. Furthermore, large quantities of scrap plastic are constantly needed in
order to maintain business continuity. Since there are no legal regulations in this area that would
force citizens to sort waste in their homes before taking it out, nor the developed consciousness
of people in this matter, Serbian recycling companies rely heavily on individuals and groups
that provide for living by collecting secondary raw materials. Considering the low purchase
price of scrap plastic, few of them are willing to opt for plastic collection rather than scrap
metal and paper from which they make more profit at this moment. The figure 1 shows a
dumpster located in the front of
a plastic waste collecting center
in bb Dunavska street in
Belgrade.

The purpose of this figure is to

show everyday situation in
which no one collects waste
plastics, except PET packaging
to a certain extent. The picture
best describes how low is the
purchase price of the plastic
waste, when no one has the
interest to take it out from the
dumpster and hand it over to the
company in front of which the
Figure 1 - A dumpster in front of a plastic waste collecting lot. In the dumpster is located. It should be
background, collected and packed PET packaging can be seen. noted that the company is
located 500 meters away from an unhygienic wild settlement inhabited by a large number of
people who live from the collection of secondary raw materials, which regularly pass by.

Recycling companies operating in the territory of Novi Sad, a city with over 700 special
dumpsters for separate disposal of recyclable refuse, stated that they also have a significant
problem with the supply of waste plastics. They have a contract with the city to empty these
dumpsters, by which they should procure waste plastics. However, what happens in practice is
that marginalized groups living on the edge of existence, damage and rob dumpsters, stealing
scrap plastic and then offer that plastic to the same recycling companies. The result is that the
city regularly pays for the repair of these dumpsters while, in the same time, recycling
companies have to pay in cache for scrap plastic in order to procure raw material for their
business. Association of recyclers of Serbia constantly warns that less than 18% of plastic waste
is recycled in Serbia and that almost 70% of their recycling capacity is not being used.

One of the famous sentences attributed to Albert Einstein is: “The definition of insanity
is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results”. Waste
management in Serbia is definitely inadequate. That is obvious as well as documented (Prokić,
Mihajlov, 2012), (Ilić, Nikolić, 2015). The change is needed and the question is, which
approach to plastic waste handling is needed to be applied in order to allow for a higher
purchase price of scrap plastic and increase the volume of plastic waste recycled?

4. Conversion of plastic waste to fuel substitutes by means of pyrolysis

Pyrolytic transformation of plastic waste into fuel substitutes, rather than the
manufacturing of plastic granules for further production, is examined and presented here as a
primary recycling process. Thermal pyrolysis involves the decomposition of polymeric
materials by means of temperature when it is applied under inert atmospheric conditions. This
process is usually conducted at temperatures between 350°C and 900 °C. It can be carried out
continually on a large industrial level or in small batch reactors. Owusu et al. (2017) showed
that at a degradation temperature of 450 °C, thermal pyrolysis in a batch reactor resulted in the
highest yield of liquid fractions. They also showed that the characteristics of plastic waste
pyrolytic oils were of high quality and similar to conventional transportation fuel. Oils obtained
by this method could be used individually in some applications or blended with conventional
fuel as a transportation fuel. Contrary to classic recycling, pyrolysis method did not required
detailed sorting and costly and complex process of waste plastics preparation. It required dried
and shredded waste in order to make reactor as full as possible.

Considering the manner of processing and the insensitivity of the system to possible
minor impurities, this method opens a possibility to gather diverse types of plastic waste
suitable for the conversion: plastic cups, flower pots, toys, tables, roadside curbs, benches,
bottles, plugs, car bumpers, plastic bags etc. Pyrolysis in batch reactors has proven to be
sufficiently efficient process of getting fuel substitutes from plastic waste (Owusu et al., 2017),
(Almeida and Marques, 2016), (Marco et al., 2002).

The figure 2 shows yields of products obtained in plastic waste pyrolysis conducted by
Miandad et al. (2016), depending on type of plastic fed to the reactor they used.
Figure 2 - Pyrolysis product yields (Miandad et al., 2016)

This chart was chosen to be presented here because it has been representing one of the
most pessimistic results of liquid fraction yield obtained in researches conducted by different
authors. Pyrolytic reactions presented in the chart were conducted with catalyst at 450 °C.
Owusu et al. (2018) have shown that the reaction in batch reactor without catalyst at lower
temperatures gives even higher liquid yields. Almeida and Marques (2016) have managed to
get 93.1% of liquid yield from certain types of plastic.

5. Findings and discussion

The market offers different varieties of pyrolytic batch reactors. Preliminary research
showed that reactors with coil heaters and 50l volume or around 30 kg of shredded plastics
typically consumed 6 kW/h and ranged from 3000€ to a few tens of thousands euro. The price
of plastic shredders sufficient for this purpose ranged from 1500€. Taking into account the
actual price of electricity, liquid fraction yields and capacities of small batch reactors, there are
indications that the price of energy needed to produce pyrolytic oil could be very low, estimated
on approximately 0.1€ per liter of obtained oil. This is to be examined in more detail in the
following period. Furthermore, if diesel generators were used for production of electricity
needed for pyrolysis, it would be possible to conduct the reaction in places where large
quantities of plastic waste would be available. This would: eliminate distant transport of plastic
waste; eliminates the dependence on the coverage of the power grid and reduce the production
cost in some extent, at the expense of the product yield. The process described, when conducted
in batch reactors on small scale, requires low initial capital investment (4500€) and could be
implemented anywhere across a wide territory and conducted by personnel with very little of
previous training. In the United States there are a large number of individuals involved in this
activity. They have online communities where they share their experience. As they state, and
scientific experiments prove, fuel substitutes obtained by this route could be mixed with
automotive fuel or used as a fuel for heating objects as well as for other purposes. Still, further
offering of the obtained oil on the energy market creates additional problems. High excise are
obliged to be paid per liter of oil as well as more complex preparation of oil is implied and
required. Prices of excise on gas oil, liquid petroleum gas and bio fuels in Serbia amounts
~0,48€/l, ~0,36€/l and ~0,47€/l respectively (“Zakon o akcizama”, “Sl. glasnik RS” no.
18/2018). This raises the final price and reduces the profit area.

Taking all into account, the question arises as to whether the recycling process should
be carried out by a relatively small number of large recycling companies or shifted towards a
larger number of smaller companies and individuals? There are several reasons why the second
method could be more effective. If the obtained pyrolysis oil did not go into the fuel market
for further sales but served as an energy source for the producer itself, excise taxes on fuel
could be avoided. Any saving that results from the differences in the production price of
pyrolysis oil and a diesel bought from the market, manufacturers should regard as a profit.
There are many entities that would be great candidates to become manufacturers such as: bus
carriers, transportation companies, farm households, taxi associations etc. In most cases, they
have the capacity to invest in the production, as well as high fuel consumption. In their case,
this type of fuel supplementation is economically justified and at the same time, they would
conduct socially responsible business. Since Serbia started to apply the decree on the marking
of petroleum products (“Uredba o obeležavanju (markiranju) derivata nafte”, “Sl. glasnik RS”
no 51/2015 and 5/2017) it would be necessary to investigate the legal regulations related to the
production and use of eco-fuel to avoid potential conflicts concerning the law. It would be
highly regarded if the state recognized plastic pyrolysis as a socially responsible activity with
a potential and introduced appropriate changes to the legal regulations that would support it.

If that was the case, if manufacturers used this process for supplementing their own
consumption of fuels, the proposed method would be efficient enough to make a room for a
higher purchase price of scrap plastic. This would be an incentive for numerous stakeholders,
especially individuals who provide for living by collecting secondary raw materials. It could
be expected that they start collecting plastics to a greater extent as a result of larger purchase
price. This would hopefully lead to an increase in the volume of recycled plastic.

6. Conclusion and recommendations

In order to avoid detrimental environmental consequences, a different approach to

plastic recycling is obviously indispensable. Classic recycling of plastic waste in Serbia did not
show enviable results and changes are obviously needed. Implementation of suggested model,
if carried out appropriately, could have potential to be a game changer in plastic waste handling
in Serbia. It would also make a lot of disturbances in the branch, but it is inevitable.

In the forthcoming period, this method should be further examined. The production cost
of pyrolysis oil should be examined in greater detail. The market research has to be conducted
in order to predict initial investments needed for the method and to find pyrolysis equipment
with the best price, quality and capacity ratio that could be procured by a larger number of
entities.
 The goal is to involve as many individuals and companies as possible in this activity.
The existence of a larger number of producers means a larger number of plastic waste purchase
locations and greater coverage. Since the manufacturers of pyrolysis oil supplementing their
own fuel consumption would be able to offer a larger purchase price of plastic waste, it could
be expected that citizens spontaneously start sorting and selling their refuse instead of just
dumping it. All these small steps together, when assembled and added to the existing recycling
methods, should make the shift to plastic recycling in a greater extent than the current one is.
 7. References

Almeida, D., & Marques, M. D. (2016). Thermal and catalytic pyrolysis of plastic waste.
Polímeros, 26(1), 44-51. doi:10.1590/0104-1428.2100

Ilić, M., & Nikolić, M. (2016). Waste management benchmarking: A case study of Serbia.
Habitat International, 53, 453-460. doi:10.1016/j.habitatint.2015.12.022

IUPAC - Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. (the "Gold Book"). Compiled by A.
D. McNaught and A. Wilkinson. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford (1997), ISBN 0-
9678550-9-8. https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook. (15.04.2018.)

Marco, I. D., Caballero, B., Torres, A., Laresgoiti, M. F., Chomón, M. J., & Cabrero, M. A.
(2002). Recycling polymeric wastes by means of pyrolysis. Journal of Chemical Technology
& Biotechnology, 77(7), 817-824. doi:10.1002/jctb.636

Miandad, R., Barakat, M., Aburiazaiza, A. S., Rehan, M., Ismail, I., & Nizami, A. (2016).
Effect of plastic waste types on pyrolysis liquid oil. International Biodeterioration &
Biodegradation, 119, 239-252. doi:10.1016/j.ibiod.2016.09.017

Owusu, P. A., Banadda, N., Zziwa, A., Seay, J., & Kiggundu, N. (2018). Reverse engineering
of plastic waste into useful fuel products. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 130,
285-293. doi:10.1016/j.jaap.2017.12.020

Prokić, D., & Mihajlov, A. (2012). Contaminated sites. Practice of solid waste management in
a developing country (Serbia). Environment Protection Engineering, 38(1), 81e90.

“Uredba o obeležavanju (markiranju) derivata nafte”* (“Sl. glasnik RS” no. 51/2015 and
5/2017) *Decree on the marking of oil derivatives

“Zakon o akcizama”* (“Sl. glasnik RS” no. 18/2018) *Law on excises