4.2.1.2. Mechanism of catalytic degradation. Garforth et al. [79]
have investigated catalytic degradation of polyolefins using TGA
as a potential method for screening catalysts and have found that
the presence of catalyst led to the decrease in the apparent
activation energy. Different mechanisms (ionic and free radical)
for plastic pyrolysis proposed by different scientists are as given
below.
Reaction occur by carbonium ion chemistry includes different
steps such as H-transfer, chain/beta-scission, isomerisation,
oligomerisation/alkylation, aromatization which is influenced by
acid-site strength, density and distribution [80]. Solid acid
catalysts, such as zeolites, favor hydrogen transfer reactions due
to the presence of many acid sites [79]. The acid strength of solid
acids is characterized by both Brønsted and Lewis acid sites;
however, the presence of Brønsted acid sites has been observed to
support the cracking of olefinic compounds [62]. A study of the
Brønsted and Lewis acid sites in polyolefin cracking has been
reviewed by several authors [81–84]. Furthermore, in the case of
crystalline solid acids, the majority of the acid sites are believed to
be located within the pores of the material, such as with zeolites
[85]. Thus micro-porosity of porous solid acids is an important
feature in assessing the level of polyolefin cracking over such
catalysts. The carbonium ion mechanism of catalytic pyrolysis of
polyethylene can be described as follows [10