Plastic pyrolysis equipment can convert waste plastics into high-value-added products such as recycled oil, and it is a technology route attracting international attention for treating low-value waste plastics. For enterprises seeking to invest in such projects, there are two equipment routes on the market: continuous and batch. Batch equipment has a lower purchase price, but from the perspective of comprehensive project operation, the difference should not be judged only by equipment price; subsequent energy consumption and the revenue from pyrolysis products must also be considered.

Waste plastic batch equipment adopts a batch operation mode. After each batch of material is loaded, the entire process of feeding, heating, pyrolysis, cooling, and discharging usually takes 22 to 24 hours. Frequent startup and shutdown cause substantial heat loss and also cause the equipment to wear out prematurely through repeated thermal expansion and contraction. For polymer recycling, the problems of this method are more obvious: the material stays in the high-temperature zone for a long time, the material layer is thick, heating is uneven, pyrolysis is incomplete, the oil yield is low, and the carbon black quality is poor; the equipment must be opened for feeding and discharging in each batch, making dust and volatile organic compounds difficult to fully control; the heating temperature is high, energy consumption is high, and flue gas emissions are 3 to 5 times higher than those of continuous equipment.

Niutech is a globally renowned manufacturer of continuous pyrolysis equipment. The industrial continuous waste plastic pyrolysis production line developed by the company, with more than 100 patented technologies, effectively solves the problems commonly encountered in large-scale waste plastic pyrolysis projects, such as easy coking in the pyrolysis system, difficulty in dynamic sealing during feeding and discharging, and easy polymerization of output materials, achieving uninterrupted continuous feeding and discharging 24 hours a day. The material residence time in the high-temperature zone is controlled within 45 minutes, the material layer is spread thin to the millimeter level, heating is uniform, pyrolysis is thorough, and the pyrolysis rate is above 99.5%. The main output is waste plastic recycled oil, which has stable quality and high added value and can be used as fuel or for further deep processing; all non-condensable combustible gas is used for equipment heating, saving energy and reducing consumption. Compared with batch equipment, continuous equipment has a higher oil yield and requires fewer workers, and its service life can reach more than 10 years, more than twice that of typical batch equipment.

At the same scale, continuous equipment has a higher oil yield and more stable quality, and is suitable for large-scale deep processing to further increase the value of pyrolysis products, giving the project better comprehensive benefits. Projects using industrial continuous pyrolysis equipment have lower overall operating costs and higher product value, and also align with the direction encouraged by industrial policy. Niutech’s continuous pyrolysis equipment has achieved ten-thousand-ton-level project implementation in Denmark, the UK, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, and other places. Among them, the Denmark project processes various waste plastics, and its pyrolysis products are used by the global chemical giant BASF to manufacture new plastics; the Vietnam project is a large continuous waste plastic demonstration project already completed in Southeast Asia. An industrial continuous pyrolysis unit will run with the production line for more than 10 years. For customers planning a plastic recycling business, choosing the right equipment supplier is the prerequisite for project success.