Thermochemical Conversion of Plastic Waste into Fuels, Chemicals, and Value-Added Materials: A Critical Review and Outlooks
Journal
ChemSusChem
Journal Volume
15
Journal Issue
11
Date Issued
2022-06-08
Author(s)
Abstract
Plastic waste is an emerging environmental issue for our society. Critical action to tackle this problem is to upcycle plastic waste as valuable feedstock. Thermochemical conversion of plastic waste has received growing attention. Although thermochemical conversion is promising for handling mixed plastic waste, it typically occurs at high temperatures (300–800 °C). Catalysts can play a critical role in improving the energy efficiency of thermochemical conversion, promoting targeted reactions, and improving product selectivity. This Review aims to summarize the state-of-the-art of catalytic thermochemical conversions of various types of plastic waste. First, general trends and recent development of catalytic thermochemical conversions including pyrolysis, gasification, hydrothermal processes, and chemolysis of plastic waste into fuels, chemicals, and value-added materials were reviewed. Second, the status quo for the commercial implementation of thermochemical conversion of plastic waste was summarized. Finally, the current challenges and future perspectives of catalytic thermochemical conversion of plastic waste including the design of sustainable and robust catalysts were discussed.
Subjects
chemolysis | gasification | hydrothermal liquefaction | plastic waste | pyrolysis
SDGs
Type
other