Franco Berruti

Prof. Dr. Franco Berruti

Institute for Chemicals and Fuels from Alternative Resources (ICFAR), Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Western University, London, Ontario, N6A 5B9, Canada

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

31Years (1996-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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23 September 2020 in Environmental Chemistry Letters
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
PDF file
Sonil NandaSonil Nanda
Sonil Nanda
Franco BerrutiFranco Berruti
Franco Berruti

1 February 2021 in Journal of Hazardous Materials
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
Sonil NandaSonil Nanda
Sonil Nanda
Franco BerrutiFranco Berruti
Franco Berruti

30 September 2020 in Environmental Chemistry Letters
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
PDF file
Sonil NandaSonil Nanda
Sonil Nanda
Franco BerrutiFranco Berruti
Franco Berruti

1 October 2020 in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
MCMarco Chiappero
Marco Chiappero
ONOmid Norouzi
Omid Norouzi
MHMingyu Hu
Mingyu Hu
FDFrancesca Demichelis
Francesca Demichelis
Franco BerrutiFranco Berruti
Franco Berruti
SFSilvia Fiore
Silvia Fiore

16 May 2021 in Materials
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
SPSadegh Papari
Sadegh Papari
HBHanieh Bamdad
Hanieh Bamdad
Franco BerrutiFranco Berruti
Franco Berruti
Plastic production has been rapidly growing across the world and, at the end of their use, many of the plastic products become waste disposed of in landfills or dispersed, causing serious environmental and health issues. From a sustainability point of view, the conversion of plastic waste to fuels or, better yet, to individual monomers, leads to a much greener waste management compared to landfill disposal. In this paper, we systematically review the potential of pyrolysis as an effective thermochemical conversion method for the valorization of plastic waste. Different pyrolysis types, along with the influence of operating conditions, e.g., catalyst types, temperature, vapor residence time, and plastic waste types, on yields, quality, and applications of the cracking plastic products are discussed. The quality of pyrolysis plastic oil, before and after upgrading, is compared to conventional diesel fuel. Plastic oil yields as high as 95 wt.% can be achieved through slow pyrolysis. Plastic oil has a heating value approximately equivalent to that of diesel fuel, i.e., 45 MJ/kg, no sulfur, a very low water and ash content, and an almost neutral pH, making it a promising alternative to conventional petroleum-based fuels. This oil, as-is or after minor modifications, can be readily used in conventional diesel engines. Fast pyrolysis mainly produces wax rather than oil. However, in the presence of a suitable catalyst, waxy products further crack into oil. Wax is an intermediate feedstock and can be used in fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) units to produce fuel or other valuable petrochemical products. Flash pyrolysis of plastic waste, performed at high temperatures, i.e., near 1000 °C, and with very short vapor residence times, i.e., less than 250 ms, can recover up to 50 wt.% ethylene monomers from polyethylene waste. Alternatively, pyrolytic conversion of plastic waste to olefins can be performed in two stages, with the conversion of plastic waste to plastic oil, followed by thermal cracking of oil to monomers in a second stage. The conversion of plastic waste to carbon nanotubes, representing a higher-value product than fuel, is also discussed in detail. The results indicate that up to 25 wt.% of waste plastic can be converted into carbon nanotubes.

18 September 2021 in Soil Use and Management
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
PDF file
HBHanieh Bamdad
Hanieh Bamdad
SPSadegh Papari
Sadegh Papari
GLGeorge Lazarovits
George Lazarovits
Franco BerrutiFranco Berruti
Franco Berruti