Effect of the Bromine-Based Flame Retardant Plastic Pyrolysis of Hydrotalcite

In this study, a method is presented to decrease halogen compounds in the product oil from thermolysis of polystyrene and polypropylene mixed plastic spiked with tetrabromobisphenol A. A mixture of hydrotalcite and plastic was pyrolyzed in a glass reactor at 400 °C under a nitrogen atmosphere. Bromine compounds in the residual substances were measured. The yield of product oil increased using hydrotalcite as an additive. The bromine compounds that were the major ingredients in the oil after thermolysis at 400 °C from the mixed plastic, which also included toluene, ethyl benzene, styrene, and 1-methylethyl benzene, were 2-bromohexane, 3-bromo-1-propenyl benzene, 4,5-dibromodecane, 1-bromomethylbenzene, 3-bromophenol, and 4-bromo-2,6-dimethylbenzaniline. However, bromine compounds were not detected in the product oil, residue, or gas when hydrotalcite was added. After the thermolysis of the plastic, bromine compounds in the product oil may decrease because bromine was captured by the added hydrotalcite.