An analysis of environment effect on ethanol blends with plastic fuel and blend optimization using a full factorial design

Abstract

Abstract There is a growing amount of plastic waste that needs to be properly disposed of in order to protect the environment from the negative effects of increasing reliance on plastic products. Recent interest has focused on chemical recycling as a means of reducing plastic's negative environmental effects. Converting waste plastics into basic petrochemicals allows them to serve as hydrocarbon feedstock or fuel oil through pyrolysis operations. Scientists have taken a keen interest in the production of bioethanol from renewable feedstocks due to its potential as a source of energy and alternative fuel. Due to its beneficial effects on the environment, ethanol has emerged as a promising biofuel. In this paper, energy recovered from low-density polyethylene and high-density polyethylene waste was converted into an alternative plastic fuel and evaluated for its environmental impact with the blending of ethanol in a diesel engine. Ternary fuel blends with 20%, 30%, and 40% waste plastic fuel and 10%, 15%, and 20% ethanol with standard diesel were tested. The study found that blending 10% ethanol with 20% plastic fuel decreased fuel consumption by around 7.9% compared to base diesel. Carbon monoxide emissions are reduced by about 10.2%, and hydrocarbon emissions are reduced by about 13.43% when using the same ternary blend. The optimum values of fuel consumption and emissions were obtained by full factorial design for a ternary fuel blend of 10% ethanol and 20% plastic fuel at the full load condition.