(619h) Chemical Recycling of Plastic Wastes Using Hydrogenolysis Method

Plastic waste constitutes a global waste problem in the environment and landfills. To mitigate this problem, a transition is needed from the concept of single-use and discard to a more environmentally beneficial circular economy whereby the plastic waste is converted to monomers to produce new or the same plastics, and other useful chemicals. The objective of this project is to develop an energy-efficient and low-temperature chemical recycling of waste plastics that will effectively cleave the C-C bonds in polyolefins. This will be carried out using the hydrogenolysis method which uses hydrogen to depolymerize the mixed plastic wastes by developing a highly efficient reactor with a low-cost catalyst that has high selectivity to the desired monomers of interest and/or other useful chemicals. This can be achieved by careful selection of catalysts that will give a high-value product. With more than 5 billion metric tons of global plastic waste generated annually, the impact of using hydrogenolysis method to chemically depolymerize mixed plastic wastes and turn them into monomers and/or other useful chemicals has a great impact on solving the global environmental pollution problem and enhancing the circular economy of plastic wastes.