Solvent-free upcycling of agricultural plastic waste using in situ self-assembly metal nanoparticles co-doped microporous carbocatalyst for advanced transportation fuels

Plastic mulching film is ubiquitous in modern agriculture for its heat preservation and moisture retention functions. However, plastic mulching film waste accumulated on land results in microplastic pollution, posing potential hazards as these micro and nanoplastics can enter the food chain. Chemical upcycling of waste mulching film is an emerging strategy to realize sustainable development and circular economy. This study explored an innovative decomposition-catalysis pathway over in situ self-assembly metal nanoparticles (NPs) co-doped microporous carbonaceous catalyst (M/PCCs) to upcycle waste mulching film. M/PCCs with varying Zn and Ni co-additions were tested and found that Zn50-Ni20/CSB1 (ZnCl: 50 %; NiCl: 20 %) predominantly favored the formation of liquid hydrocarbons and high-purity H production. Importantly, Zn-Ni co-doped on pine sawdust-derived carbon catalyst (Zn-Ni/PSB) with the highest surface area (671 m/g) and microporosity (76.05 %) exhibited the highest liquid yield (51.67 wt%), and the extremely high carbon selectivity of 89.38 C% for gasoline and 71.98 C% for jet fuel, respectively. Additionally, Zn-Ni/PSB on the time stream was in situ 3D visually evaluated to insightfully unveil the catalytic deconstruction and catalyst deactivation mechanisms. In brief, this study presented a promising solution to effectively upcycle agricultural waste mulching film and thereby mitigate micro and nanoplastics pollution.