Catalytic Strategies for the Upcycling of Polyolefin Plastic Waste

Abstract

Chemical upgrading of waste plastics is currently one of the most important methods for addressing plastic pollution. In comparison to the current methods of incineration or landfill, chemical upgrading enables the utilization of carbon and hydrogen elements in waste plastics as resources. This process strongly relies on efficient catalysts and reaction systems. Through catalyst design, waste plastics can be converted into fuels or chemicals under the optimized reaction conditions, extending their life cycles. In this review, we systematically discuss various chemical conversion methods for polyolefin waste plastics, which account for a large proportion of waste plastics. We further explore the remaining challenges and future development trends in this field, including improving product value through product engineering and shifting research perspectives to exploring the tolerance of catalysts toward impurities in practical waste plastic waste rather than using pure plastic feedstock.

Upcycling of Plastic Waste Using Photo-, Electro-, and Photoelectrocatalytic Approaches: A Way toward Circular Economy

“…For example, PS can be treated under high oxidative conditions and high temperature to yield benzoic acid, benzaldehyde, acetophenone, etc. as primary products, whereas PE can be treated in high acidic conditions to reform into alkanes and formic acid. , Therefore, different plastic waste exhibits different functionalities which drives their susceptibility to be upcycled, and the reaction conditions are needed to be chosen accordingly.…”