Ex situ catalytic pyrolysis of engineered waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) was conducted in a two-stage reactor using HZSM-5 catalyst. The effect of the catalysis temperature and the catalyst-to-feedstock (C/F) ratio on products yield, gas and oil composition, and products characterization were investigated in this study. Results indicated that lower reforming temperature and C/F ratio favored organic fractions production. The highest yield of organic fraction was obtained at a catalysis temperature of 450 °C and at a C/F ratio of 0.15, corresponding to 28.5 and 27.4 wt %, respectively. The highest selectivity toward aromatic hydrocarbons and the lowest TAN value of the organic fraction were obtained at a catalysis temperature of 450 °C and a C/F ratio of 0.2, respectively. Most of the alkali and transition metals and 23 % of Br remained in the solid residue after the catalytic pyrolysis of low-grade electronic waste (LGEW).
The authors would like to acknowledge the Swedish Energy Agency(Energimyndigheten) (project number 51219–1) for the financial support. Furthermore, the authors acknowledge the Research Institute of Sweden (RISE) for the help and technical support as well as Boliden Rönnskär for providing the WEEE material.