05 July 2024 | Esun Selvam, Kewei Yu, Jacqueline Ngu, Sean Najmi, Dionisios G. Vlachos
This study presents a novel approach to recycling polyolefin plastic waste using Rapid Pulse Joule Heating (RPH) over an H-ZSM-5 catalyst. The method efficiently deconstructs polyolefins into light olefins (C₂-C₄) in milliseconds, achieving high productivity and selectivity. The catalyst significantly enhances the yield of light olefins, with a product fraction of >90% C₂-C₄ hydrocarbons. Pulsed operation and steam co-feeding further improve selectivity and reduce coking. The process demonstrates resilience to additives and impurities in real-world plastics, making it a promising solution for circular polyolefin plastic waste management. Compared to continuous Joule Heating (CJH), RPH offers higher catalyst reusability and lower carbon dioxide emissions. The study highlights the potential of RPH for monomer production from polyolefins, providing a sustainable alternative to traditional methods.This study presents a novel approach to recycling polyolefin plastic waste using Rapid Pulse Joule Heating (RPH) over an H-ZSM-5 catalyst. The method efficiently deconstructs polyolefins into light olefins (C₂-C₄) in milliseconds, achieving high productivity and selectivity. The catalyst significantly enhances the yield of light olefins, with a product fraction of >90% C₂-C₄ hydrocarbons. Pulsed operation and steam co-feeding further improve selectivity and reduce coking. The process demonstrates resilience to additives and impurities in real-world plastics, making it a promising solution for circular polyolefin plastic waste management. Compared to continuous Joule Heating (CJH), RPH offers higher catalyst reusability and lower carbon dioxide emissions. The study highlights the potential of RPH for monomer production from polyolefins, providing a sustainable alternative to traditional methods.