Chemical Upcycling of Waste Plastics to High Value-Added Products via Pyrolysis: Current Trends, Future Perspectives, and Techno-Feasibility Analysis

Chem Rec. 2023 Apr;23(4):e202200294. doi: 10.1002/tcr.202200294. Epub 2023 Feb 27.

Abstract

Chemical upcycling of waste plastics into high-value-added products is one of the most effective, cost-efficient, and environmentally beneficial solutions. Many studies have been published over the past few years on the topic of recycling plastics into usable materials through a process called catalytic pyrolysis. There is a significant research gap that must be bridged in order to use catalytic pyrolysis of waste plastics to produce high-value products. This review focuses on the enhanced catalytic pyrolysis of waste plastics to produce jet fuel, diesel oil, lubricants, aromatic compounds, syngas, and other gases. Moreover, the reaction mechanism, a brief and critical comparison of different catalytic pyrolysis studies, as well as the techno-feasibility analysis of waste plastic pyrolysis and the proposed catalytic plastic pyrolysis setup for commercialization is also covered.

Keywords: Chemical upcycling; Plastic waste management; Techno-feasible analysis, Pyrolysis; Value-added products; Waste plastics.

Publication types

  • Review