Systems and methods for making hydrocarbon compositions derived from pyrolysis of post-consumer and/or post-industrial plastics

A method for pyrolysis of plastic feedstock comprising post-consumer and/or post-industrial plastics, the method comprising:

• directing the plastic feedstock into an internal volume of a reactor vessel, wherein the plastic feedstock comprises:
• 90% or more by weight of polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, or a combination thereof;
• 10% or less by weight non-plastic materials;
• and
• 5% or less by weight PVC, PVDC, PET, nylon, EVOH, PC, ABS, rubber, thermosets, or a combination thereof;
• and
• pyrolyzing the plastic feedstock in the internal volume of the reactor vessel;
• wherein the step of pyrolyzing the plastic feedstock comprises:
• using one or more heaters to heat the plastic feedstock in the internal volume of the reactor vessel to a temperature between 200° C. and 1,000° C.;
• controlling the average heat density applied by the one or more heaters to be from 5 to 55 W/in2;
• using an agitator to produce average fluid flow velocities inside the reactor vessel between 1 m/s and 10 m/s;
• and
• producing an average of 0.30 pounds or more of hydrocarbon vapor per hour per gallon of the internal volume of the reactor vessel for a period of 24 hours or more.