Transformation of Polyolefinic Plastics to Chemicals by Catalytic Decomposition

Abstract

In recent years, plastic waste problems have become increasingly severe, making the development of plastic recycling technologies an urgent priority. While thermal and material recycling constitute the majority of plastic recycling technologies, chemical recycling is essential when considering carbon cycling. Chemical recycling is also expected to have significant potential from the perspective of reducing carbon dioxide emissions and more efficient energy consumption. Particularly crucial to this is the development of chemical recycling technologies for hydrocarbon-based plastics, which are the majority of plastics and include ones such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, and styrene resins. Therefore, this paper provides an overview of the current state of chemical recycling for plastics as well as the research trends in hydrogenolysis technology for polyolefinic plastics using heterogeneous catalysts, which have attracted significant attention in recent years. Additionally, we discuss our recent research on solid catalysts for the hydrogenolysis of polyolefinic plastics.