Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Chemical Recycling of Plastics by Microwave‐Assisted High‐Temperature Pyrolysis

Researchers developed a microwave-assisted high-temperature pyrolysis method that continuously breaks down mixed plastic waste and plant oil into useful chemicals like ethylene and propylene. This chemical recycling approach could help divert plastic waste from the environment while producing renewable building blocks for new materials.

2020 Global Challenges 51 citations
Article Tier 2

Optimisation of Process Parameters to Maximise the Oil Yield from Pyrolysis of Mixed Waste Plastics

Researchers optimized the process parameters for thermal pyrolysis of mixed waste plastics to maximize oil yield from HDPE, polypropylene, and polystyrene. The study used response surface methodology to identify ideal conditions for converting plastic waste into pyrolytic oil, supporting chemical recycling as a strategy to reduce plastic pollution.

2024 Sustainability 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Materials challenges and opportunities to address growing micro/nanoplastics pollution: a review of thermochemical upcycling

This review examined thermochemical upcycling technologies including pyrolysis, gasification, and liquefaction as approaches to valorize micro- and nanoplastic waste, assessing the material challenges and opportunities for converting environmental plastic pollution into useful fuels or chemical feedstocks.

2022 Materials Today Sustainability 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Recovery of plastic waste through its thermochemical degradation: a review

This review examines pyrolysis as a promising technology for recovering valuable chemical compounds from plastic waste, which reached approximately 368 million tons of global production in 2020 alone. Researchers discuss how thermal and catalytic degradation can convert different types of thermoplastics into high-energy-value products. The study also highlights the environmental and health impacts of plastic accumulation, including the effects of microplastic consumption on human and animal health.

2023 Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Upcycling of waste plastics: strategies, status-quo, and prospects

This review examines strategies for upcycling waste plastics into valuable products as an alternative to landfilling and incineration, which generate microplastics and carbon emissions respectively. Researchers survey chemical recycling methods including pyrolysis, gasification, and catalytic processes that can convert common plastics like PET, polyethylene, and polystyrene into fuels, chemicals, and new materials. The study highlights the urgent need for more effective recycling technologies to address the growing gap between plastic production and waste management capacity.

2024 Chinese Science Bulletin (Chinese Version) 3 citations
Article Tier 2

State-of-the-Art Achievements and Challenges in Photochemical Conversion of Plastics to Chemicals and Composites

This review covers photochemical methods for converting plastic waste into value-added chemicals and composite materials, examining both the chemistry of photooxidation and recent advances in converting plastic streams into useful products rather than disposing of them.

2025 Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic pyrolysis over HZSM-5 zeolite and fluid catalytic cracking catalyst under ultra-fast heating

Researchers demonstrated that using induction heating — a fast, energy-efficient method — with catalysts can fully break down polyethylene and polypropylene plastics within 10 minutes, converting them into useful gases and liquid chemicals, offering a more economically viable recycling pathway than conventional plastic pyrolysis.

2022 Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis 84 citations
Article Tier 2

Degradation of Plastics in Simulated Landfill Conditions

Researchers exposed high-density polyethylene, oxo-degradable polyethylene, and certified compostable plastics to simulated landfill conditions for 854 days and found that only compostable plastic degraded substantially, while oxo-degradable plastic showed minimal improvement over standard HDPE under anaerobic landfill conditions.

2021 Polymers 42 citations
Article Tier 2

Thermal degradation kinetics of real-life reclaimed plastic solid waste (PSW) from an active landfill site: The mining of an unsanitary arid landfill

This study analyzed plastic waste reclaimed from an active landfill to determine how it degrades thermally for potential conversion into fuel or other products. Understanding the thermal behavior of landfill plastic waste is relevant to recovering value from discarded plastics rather than leaving them to fragment into microplastics.

2020 Ain Shams Engineering Journal 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Valorisation of plastic waste via metal-catalysed depolymerisation

This review covers metal-catalysed depolymerisation approaches for recycling and upcycling waste plastics back into monomers or value-added chemicals, highlighting recent advances in catalyst design that improve selectivity and yield for common polymer types.

2021 Beilstein Journal of Organic Chemistry 57 citations
Article Tier 2

Current Developments in the Chemical Upcycling of Waste Plastics Using Alternative Energy Sources

This review covers chemical upcycling approaches for waste plastics using alternative energy sources such as microwave, ultrasound, and photocatalysis, highlighting their potential to convert mixed plastic waste into valuable chemical feedstocks more efficiently than conventional pyrolysis.

2021 ChemSusChem 77 citations
Article Tier 2

Thermal and catalytic pyrolysis of a real mixture of post-consumer plastic waste: An analysis of the gasoline-range product

Researchers performed thermal and catalytic pyrolysis on real post-consumer plastic waste mixtures using various catalysts, finding that polymer type strongly influenced gas, liquid, and char yields, and that zeolite catalysts produced gasoline-range hydrocarbon liquids with commercially viable compositions from mixed plastic feedstocks.

2022 Process Safety and Environmental Protection 33 citations
Article Tier 2

Carbon nanotubes production from real-world waste plastics and the pyrolysis behaviour

Researchers produced carbon nanotubes from real-world waste plastics through pyrolysis, characterizing the thermal decomposition behavior of mixed plastic waste and demonstrating a valuable upcycling pathway for plastic pollution.

2023 Waste Management 49 citations
Article Tier 2

Mixed Plastic Waste Gasification in a Large Pilot-Scale Fluidized Bed Reactor Operated with Oxygen-Enriched Air and Steam

Researchers tested gasification of mixed plastic waste in a large pilot-scale reactor using oxygen-enriched air and steam to convert hard-to-recycle plastics into useful synthesis gas. They found that the process could effectively handle the heterogeneous mixtures that mechanical recycling typically cannot. The study presents chemical recycling through gasification as a viable strategy for reducing plastic waste that would otherwise contribute to environmental microplastic pollution.

2024 Energy & Fuels 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Hydrothermal carbonization of plastic waste: A review of its potential in alternative energy applications

Researchers reviewed how hydrothermal carbonization — a process that converts materials into a coal-like substance using heat and water under pressure — can transform plastic waste into useful products like solid fuels, catalysts, and materials for energy storage devices. While the technology is promising, challenges like variable plastic feedstock quality and scaling up production must be addressed before widespread commercial use.

2023 Fuel Communications 36 citations
Article Tier 2

Towards fuels production by a catalytic pyrolysis of a real mixture of post-consumer plastic waste

Researchers tested in-situ catalytic pyrolysis of a real mixed post-consumer plastic waste stream from mechanical-biological treatment facilities, producing a liquid fuel fraction with properties comparable to gasoline, kerosene, and diesel.

2023 Fuel 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Rapid activation of microplastics by microwave heating in an aqueous phase: A novel approach for enhanced plastic recycling

Microwave heating was used to rapidly activate microplastics by partial oxidation, enhancing their subsequent degradation in catalytic wet peroxide oxidation (CWPO) processes. Graphite particles and hydrogen peroxide during microwave treatment boosted MP reactivity, with aliphatic plastics activating more effectively than aromatic ones.

2024 Separation and Purification Technology 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Review and Design Overview of Plastic Waste-to-Pyrolysis Oil Conversion with Implications on the Energy Transition

This review analyzes the process of converting plastic waste into usable oil through pyrolysis, a thermal breakdown process conducted without oxygen. Researchers found that plastic waste has energy content comparable to conventional fuel oil, making pyrolysis an attractive waste-management and energy-recovery option. The study discusses the technical design considerations and suggests that scaling up this technology could contribute to both reducing plastic pollution and supporting the energy transition.

2023 Journal of Energy 75 citations
Article Tier 2

Thermochemical and chemo-biological molecular recycling of plastic waste and plastic-biomass waste mixtures: an updated review

This review covers thermochemical and chemo-biological approaches to recycling plastic waste and plastic-biomass waste mixtures into valuable building block molecules. The study highlights that while thermochemical and bioprocessing methods show promise, the chemo-enzymatic treatment of mixed plastic-biomass waste streams remains an open challenge due to their diverse composition.

2025 RSC Sustainability 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Single-Step Electrochemical Upcycling of PET: Waste to Value-Added Chemicals, Oral Presentation

Researchers developed a single-step electrochemical method to upcycle PET plastic waste into value-added chemicals and organic materials, targeting the over 70% of plastic that ends up in landfills or oceans where it breaks down into microplastics.

2024 ECS Meeting Abstracts
Article Tier 2

Plastic regulates its co-pyrolysis process with biomass: Influencing factors, model calculations, and mechanisms

Researchers investigated co-pyrolysis of plastics and biomass, finding that varying the hydrogen-to-carbon ratio of biomass feedstocks influences synergistic effects on bio-oil quality, offering a strategy to improve plastic waste valorization.

2022 Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Trends for the Thermal Degradation of Polymeric Materials: Analysis of Available Techniques, Issues, and Opportunities

This review analyzed thermal degradation methods for mixed polymer waste streams including PET, PP, and tire rubber, examining pyrolysis conditions and reaction mechanisms for different plastic types. The authors identified opportunities to improve thermal recycling technologies and reduce the fraction of plastic waste that enters the environment as microplastics.

2022 Applied Sciences 51 citations
Article Tier 2

Chemical-Physical Characterization of Bio-Based Biodegradable Plastics in View of Identifying Suitable Recycling/Recovery Strategies and Numerical Modeling of PLA Pyrolysis

Researchers characterized several bio-based and biodegradable polymer alternatives to conventional plastics using chemical-physical methods, assessing their suitability for industrial composting and identifying challenges in managing these bioplastics in the existing waste stream.

2023 Waste and Biomass Valorization 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Integrating Mechanochemistry with Advanced Oxidation for Mild-Condition Degradation of Inert Polyolefins

Researchers combined mechanochemistry with advanced oxidation processes to degrade inert polyolefin microplastics under mild temperature conditions, demonstrating a new approach for breaking down persistent plastic polymers that resist conventional chemical and biological treatment methods.

2025 ECS Meeting Abstracts