Aluminum Recovery From Multimaterial Tetra-Pak Waste Pyrolysis

A constant growth of the multimaterial waste production can be observed in the recent years. The multimaterial waste that contain aluminum are especially hard to process due to the fact that multiple layers of various materials are bonded permanently. Tetra-Pak waste contain high amounts of paper (approx. 70%) and are usually processed in papermills in order to recover cellulose. The overview on the methods used to process waste as well as the characteristics of the produced waste are presented in the paper. The application of pyrolysis has many advantages: the products are characterized by a high calorific value and can be used as fuels, and the process itself is much more environmentally friendly than the chemical methods used currently. The tests were performed with a special focus on the minimization of the aluminum oxidation level, so that in can be further processed. In order to determine the decomposition temperature of the individual components of the examined materials, the tests started with a thermogravimetric analysis of the pyrolysis process performed with the application of argon. The next step were the pyrolysis tests on a laboratory scale installation aimed in the verification of the results obtained during the thermogravimetry.