Microwave-assisted catalytic pyrolysis is a prominent technology for the production of high-quality fuel intermediates and value-added chemicals from polystyrene waste. The objectives of this study were to understand the role of catalyst (KOH) on polystyrene (PS) pyrolysis. Pyrolysis experiments were conducted using a microwave oven at a power of 450 W and a temperature of 600 °C. Graphite susceptor (10 g) was used to achieve the required pyrolysis conditions. In addition, the design of experiments (DoE) with machine learning (ML) was used to understand the loading of PS (5 g, 27.5 g, and 50 g), and KOH (5 g, 7.5 g, and 10 g). The products including oil, gas, and char were collected in every experiment. The average heating rates achieved were in the range of 30–50 °C/min. The specific microwave power (microwave power per unit mass of feedstock) decreased with an increase in PS amount from 90 to 9 W/g. However, the specific microwave energy (microwave energy per unit mass of feedstock) (27–73 kJ/g) was in line with the average heating rate. The maximum yield of pyrolysis oil was found to be 95 wt%, which was obtained with a PS:KOH ratio of 27.5 g: 7.5 g. The oil yield increased from 80 to 95 wt% when the mass of the catalyst increased from 5 to 7.5 g. On the other hand, the gas yield (3–18 wt%) varied significantly and char yield (1–2 wt%) was not influenced. The yields predicted by ML matched well with the experimental yields. This study demonstrated the potential of KOH as a catalyst for PS pyrolysis technology as the formation of aliphatic hydrocarbons in the oil fraction was significantly promoted.

微波辅助催化热解是一种从聚苯乙烯废料中生产高质量燃料中间体和增值化学品的突出技术。本研究的目的是了解催化剂 (KOH) 在聚苯乙烯 (PS) 热解中的作用。使用功率为 450 W 和温度为 600 °C 的微波炉进行热解实验。石墨感受器(10 g) 用于实现所需的热解条件。此外，使用机器学习 (ML) 的实验设计 (DoE) 来了解 PS（5 g、27.5 g 和 50 g）和 KOH（5 g、7.5 g 和 10 g）的负载。在每个实验中都收集了包括石油、天然气和炭在内的产品。达到的平均加热速率在 30–50 °C/min 的范围内。比微波功率（每单位质量原料的微波功率）随着 PS 量从 90 到 9 W/g 的增加而降低。然而，特定的微波能量（每单位质量原料的微波能量）（27-73 kJ/g）与平均加热速率一致。最大产量发现热解油为 95 wt%，其得到的 PS:KOH 比为 27.5 g:7.5 g。当催化剂的质量从 5 增加到 7.5 g 时，油的收率从 80 增加到 95 wt%。另一方面，气体产率（3-18 wt%）变化很大，而炭产率（1-2 wt%）不受影响。ML 预测的产量与实验产量很好地匹配。这项研究证明了 KOH 作为 PS 热解技术催化剂的潜力，因为显着促进了油馏分中脂肪烃的形成。