(403c) Turning Polystyrene Waste into Clean Hydrogen: A Chemical Looping Advantage

The escalating accumulation of plastic waste—especially the environmentally persistent polystyrene—presents major ecological concerns. Clean hydrogen fuel production from waste material offers sustainable energy alternatives when this waste undergoes transformation into valuable resources. This research evaluates the technological feasibility and financial viability of transforming polystyrene waste into high-purity hydrogen through the use of two different process models including a syn-gas method (Case 1) and chemical looping technology (Case 2).The technical evaluation shows that Case 2 delivers superior performance than the traditional system while meeting important system requirements. The process efficiency reaches 80% in Case 2 while the efficiency in Case 1 remains at 39%. A calcium oxide-based sorbent delivers effective in-situ CO₂ capture as the main reason behind these performance gains that avoids energy-expensive acid gas removal processes. The chemical looping system produces greater exergy efficiency of 82.5% because of its stable temperature distribution which decreases exergy losses below traditional configuration levels at 54.7%.The chemical looping method displays attractive economic benefits along with other advantages. The production cost of hydrogen decreases by 10% using the modifications from $1.33/kg in Case 1 to $1.20/kg in Case 2. The evaluation shows that the chemical looping method demonstrates scalability as an environmentally friendly production method for hydrogen from waste polystyrene.Syngas generation that integrates with CO₂ capture in one reactor system proves an effective solution for fighting plastic waste while creating renewable energy. Studies should focus on developing more effective sorbent materials because this research will lead to higher net present value and lower production expenses. The feasibility of chemical looping processing can be improved through investigations into applying polystyrene gasification with plurality of plastics or by implementing methane reforming practices.