Combustion Products from Burning Polyethylene

Thermal degradation of polyethylene was studied under a wide range of oxidative degradation conditions including flaming combustion. The collection techniques described were designed to isolate the product mixtures so that secondary reactions were minimized. Both pyrolytic and oxidative degradation products were generally obtained. The pyrolysis products included a range of saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons from C2 to C23 which did not vary greatly in product ratio with conditions. The oxidative degradation products, including mainly acetone, acetaldehyde, acetic acid and a small amount of acrolein, varied considerably in relative yield.