Recovery of indan derivatives from polystyrene waste

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Abstract
The recovery of indan derivatives from polystyrene waste for the purpose of efficient utilization of plastic wastes was studied. An attempt was made to construct the apparatus, in which thermal decomposition of polystyrene and catalytic reaction of its decomposition products over silica–alumina catalyst could be controlled continuously at the same time. The reaction temperature for thermal decomposition of polystyrene in the upper part of a reactor tube was 420°C, while that for catalytic reaction of the thermal decomposition products in the bottom of a reactor tube was 300°C. These results indicated that the composition of thermal decomposition products of polystyrene could be controlled by the use of a flow reactor. The indan derivatives recovered were two 1‐methyl‐3‐phenylindans, one 1‐methyl‐1‐phenylindan, and 1‐phenylindan. The yields of these indan derivatives were 20% of the weight of the liquid products recovered. On the basis of the results obtained in the present work, the most suitable reaction conditions to recover indan derivatives from polystyrene waste is discussed.

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