Applied Chemical Engineering

IoT-Enabled Pyrolysis process system for conversion of Medical Plastic Waste to Liquid Fuel as a Renewable Source of Electricity Generation

Kaushalkumar K Barot

Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Parul University, Waghodia, Vadodara, Gujarat, 391760, India.

SSPM Sharma

Department of Mechatronics Engineering, Parul Institute of technology, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Parul University, Waghodia, Vadodara, Gujarat, 391760, India.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.59429/ace.v8i4.5811

Keywords: Waste to Electricity; IoT; Pyrolysis oil; LDPE; MQTT; Node-RED

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Abstract

The growing volume of biomedical plastic waste, especially low-density polyethylene (LDPE) from single-use medical items, poses serious environmental and health risks due to its non-biodegradable nature and potential for contamination. Recovering energy from such waste through controlled thermal degradation processes offers a sustainable pathway to reduce pollution and generate usable energy. With the primary objective of designing and developing a waste-to-electricity generation setup using an online access tool, this research paper presents a novel setup designed and tested for receiving oil yield from a sample of low-density polyethylene plastic waste, which can be utilized for electricity generation using Pyrolysis oil. This setup has the dual benefit of waste reduction and energy production. The setup integrates IoT-based real-time monitoring through ESP32 and sensor modules to evaluate parameters such as temperature, pressure, and Pyrolytic oil yield. Data transmission is handled using the MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport) protocol and visualized via a Node-RED dashboard. Experimental trials examined the effect of process variables on oil production and energy potential. Results indicate that the optimized conditions significantly enhance oil yield, validating the feasibility of electricity generation from low-density polyethylene plastic waste. The GCV value of oil tested is 45.8 MJ/Kg. The system producing 0.19667 L/hr of pyro-oil could theoretically generate electricity 0.71 kW from medical plastic waste. This system offers an environmentally responsible alternative for energy production.

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