Abstract: A fast pyrolysis process in a tubular reactor was proposed in this paper. Polystyrene was firstly dissolved in toluene and then fed into reactor in an atomized way. The effect of pyrolysis atmosphere, reaction temperature, and retention time on the pyrolysis was investigated. It showed that oil and styrene yield increased with increasing retention time. Styrene yield increased at first and then decreased with increasing reaction temperature, and the maximum styrene yield of 36.67 % was obtained at 890 ℃. Pyrolysis gas was mainly methane, ethylene and propylene and gas yield increased with increasing retention time and reaction temperature. Moreover, the addition of water vapor could reduce residual char. In addition, nozzle diameter had an obvious effect on oil and styrene yield.

Key words: polystyrene, styrene, pyrolysis, yield