PYROLYSIS OF GLASS-FIBER REINFORCED PLASTIC USING STEAM STREAM

Application of steam stream in pyrolysis of fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) was effective in reduction of depositing of phthalic anhydride and charcoal-tar on furnace walls. The pyrolysis of FRP using a steam stream under atmospheric pressure was completed in 5 min at 500-degrees-C; the main compounds recovered were styrene and phthalic acid. The pyrolysis at 350-degrees-C was not completed in 60 min, and produced 6% less decomposition oil components than the pyrolysis at 500-degrees-C. The steam stream did not seem to participate in the decomposition of polystyrene of FRP. However, when steam was replaced with nitrogen gas, phthalic anhydride was produced by pyrolysis. The production of gas in the process using steam was not so much; about 70% of it was carbon dioxide.