Two-step conversion of waste plastic into light olefins and aromatics on metal-free carbon felt catalyst under radiofrequency heating

• Efficient carbon catalyst under induction heating for catalytic conversion of waste plastic. • Induction heating improves catalytic performance compared to traditional heating mode. • Good stability thanks to the efficient combination of carbon catalyst and induction heating. • Electrification process for the production of light olefins and aromatics from renewable energies. Plastic waste represents the most serious global problem for ecosystem and environmental balance, which urges the development of new recycling process for the improvement of circular economy. Chemical recycling of waste plastic to produce back light olefins, ethylene and propylene, is of high interest to reduce the use of fossil sources and allows the direct re-use of waste plastic with a concomitant reduction of associated carbon footprint. In this present work, we report on the development of metal-free carbon catalyst, with high deactivation resistance, coupled with contactless induction heating with high heat efficiency and low energy for the direct conversion of waste plastics back to light olefins and aromatics. Such process is critical yet challenging in industrial applications. Relevant characterizations proved that exclusive surface heating, significantly improves the selective cracking of waste plastics, either model or industrial ones, to produce light olefins and aromatics during long-term operating process. The commercial carbon felt displays remarkable performance for the chemical recycling of waste plastics, surpassing the conventional metal and zeolite catalysts for such relevant environmental problem. The influence of an alternating magnetic field on the catalytic mechanism is advanced to explain such high performance.