Since 2000, KIER has developed a novel pyrolytic process for production of fuel oils from polymer
wastes. The target was to develop an un-catalyzed, continuous and automatic process producing fuel
oils. The process development has proceeded in three stages; bench-scale unit, pilot plant and
demonstration plant. As the result, the demonstration plant having capacity of 3,000 tons/year has
been constructed and is currently under test operation for optimization of operation conditions.
Key technologies adopted in the process were 1) Recirculation of feed for rapid melting and
enhancement of fluidity for automatic control of system, 2) Tubular reactor specially-designed for
heavy heat flux and prevention of coking, 3) Recirculation of heavy fraction for prevention of wax
formation, and 4) continuous removal & re-reaction of sludge for high yield of main product (oil)
and minimization of residue. The advantages of the process are full automation, continuous
operation, no requirement of catalyst, minimization of coking and sludge problems, maximizing the
product (fuel oil) yield and purity and operation costs and environment-friendly process.
In this paper, the details of KIER pyrolysis process flow, key technologies and the performances
of the plant and the products from the demonstration plant were discussed in detail.