Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Economic feasibility of catalytic cracking of polymer waste for fuel production

This study analyzed the economic feasibility of catalytic cracking of polyethylene and polypropylene plastic waste to produce liquid fuel, finding that the process can be cost-competitive under certain conditions. Converting plastic waste into fuel reduces the amount that degrades into microplastics in the environment while generating economic value.

2023 Revista de Geografia
Article Tier 2

Perspectives on Thermochemical Recycling of End-of-Life Plastic Wastes to Alternative Fuels

This review examined thermochemical recycling technologies including pyrolysis, liquefaction, and gasification for converting plastic waste into clean fuels, discussing operating principles, barriers, and the potential for co-processing plastics with biomass.

2023 Materials 36 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Recovery and Conversion Pathways: The Most Recent Advancements in Technologies for the Generation of Renewable Energy

This review examines current technologies for recovering energy from microplastics, evaluating pyrolysis, gasification, electrochemical methods, and hybrid biomass-based approaches in terms of energy balance, carbon conversion, product composition, process efficiency, and scalability. The authors found pyrolysis to be the most scalable method, producing valuable oils and gases, but highlighted that all reviewed technologies face challenges handling the heterogeneous composition and small particle sizes characteristic of MP feedstocks.

2025 Energies
Article Tier 2

Reimagining plastics waste as energy solutions: challenges and opportunities

This review examines the potential of converting plastic waste into energy through waste-to-energy and waste-to-fuel technologies, particularly in developing nations where recycling infrastructure is limited. Researchers assessed various conversion methods including pyrolysis and gasification, evaluating their efficiency and environmental trade-offs. The study emphasizes that energy recovery from plastic waste could help address both the growing plastic pollution crisis and energy needs in underserved regions.

2024 npj Materials Sustainability 26 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

Harnessing Pyrolysis for Industrial Energy Autonomy and Sustainable Waste Management

Researchers designed a small-scale pyrolysis system that converts plastic waste into synthetic oil for industrial energy generation. The proposed unit processes 360 tons of plastic waste yearly to produce fuel capable of generating 500 MWh of electricity, with a total investment cost of approximately EUR 41,000 and potential annual revenue of up to EUR 45,000.

2025 Energies 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Comprehensive Assessment of Thermochemical Processes for Sustainable Waste Management and Resource Recovery

This review evaluates thermochemical technologies such as pyrolysis, gasification, and liquefaction for converting waste materials, including plastics, into useful chemicals and fuels. Researchers compared the processes based on energy efficiency, product quality, and environmental impact. The study aims to guide the selection of the most appropriate waste-to-value technology for different materials as part of a circular economy approach.

2023 Processes 104 citations
Review Tier 2

Pyrolysis as a value added method for plastic waste management: A review on converting LDPE and HDPE waste into fuel

This review examined pyrolysis as a method to convert low-density and high-density polyethylene plastic waste into fuel, summarizing process parameters, product yields, and fuel quality. Pyrolysis can transform otherwise unrecyclable plastic into diesel-like hydrocarbon fuels. The technology offers a potential solution for managing polyethylene waste while generating energy from materials that would otherwise persist in the environment.

2022 5 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

Rescuing the Environment: Turning (Micro)plastics into Energy Through Gasification

This review examines how plastic waste could be converted to energy through gasification, potentially reducing the amount of plastic entering waterways as microplastics. Converting plastic waste to gas or fuel is presented as one strategy for managing the large global plastic waste burden.

2018 U Porto Journal of Engineering 9 citations
Article Tier 2

A Comprehensive Review on the Thermochemical Treatment of Plastic Waste to Produce High Value Products for Different Applications

This review summarizes methods for converting plastic waste into valuable products using high-temperature chemical processes like pyrolysis and plasma technology. These approaches can produce hydrogen fuel, carbon nanotubes, and other useful materials from plastic that would otherwise become pollution. Reducing plastic waste through better recycling technology is important because most microplastic pollution originates from improperly managed plastic products.

2025 Materials Circular Economy 22 citations
Review Tier 2

Pyrolysis as a value added method for plastic waste management: A review on converting LDPE and HDPE waste into fuel

This review focuses on pyrolysis as a method to convert waste LDPE and HDPE plastics into liquid fuel, summarizing reactor types, catalysts, and the factors influencing fuel yield and quality. While not about microplastics directly, it addresses the upstream problem of plastic waste accumulation — particularly the conversion of plastics that would otherwise persist in the environment and fragment into microplastics — into usable energy resources.

2023 Ceylon Journal of Science 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Environmental Impacts Towards Plastic Waste by Using Pyrolysis

This study used life cycle assessment to evaluate the environmental impact of converting plastic waste into fuel through pyrolysis. The findings suggest pyrolysis can reduce plastic waste in landfills while generating usable energy, though careful emission management is required.

2023 International Journal of Advanced Natural Sciences and Engineering Researches 2 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

Chemical Recycling of Plastic Waste: Comparative Evaluation of Environmental and Economic Performances of Gasification- and Incineration-based Treatment for Lightweight Packaging Waste

Chemical recycling of lightweight plastic packaging waste via gasification was compared to incineration with energy recovery using life cycle assessment and economic analysis, finding that gasification offered some environmental advantages but at higher cost and with significant technology readiness uncertainties. The study provides a comparative evaluation to inform decisions about complementary roles for chemical and mechanical recycling in plastic waste management.

2022 Circular Economy and Sustainability 55 citations
Article Tier 2

A Review on Biofuels and Chemicals Production by Co-pyrolysis of Solid Biomass Feedstocks and Non-degradable Plastics

This review examines co-pyrolysis processes that convert mixtures of plastic waste and solid biomass into fuels and chemical products. Co-pyrolysis offers a way to valorize plastic waste that would otherwise break down into microplastics in the environment, while also producing usable energy.

2023 International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research 1 citations
Article Tier 2

A Critical Review of SCWG in the Context of Available Gasification Technologies for Plastic Waste

This review critically assessed supercritical water gasification (SCWG) in the context of available plastic waste gasification technologies, evaluating thermochemical conversion efficiency, product gas composition, and scalability challenges compared to conventional pyrolysis and gasification methods for non-recyclable plastic end-of-life management.

2020 Applied Sciences 104 citations
Article Tier 2

A State-of-the-Art Review on the Technological Advancements for the Sustainable Management of Plastic Waste in Consort with the Generation of Energy and Value-Added Chemicals

This review examined technological advances for converting plastic waste into energy and value-added chemicals, covering pyrolysis, gasification, and catalytic processes as sustainable alternatives to landfilling, given that global plastic waste generation reached approximately 380 million tonnes in 2022.

2023 Catalysts 37 citations
Article Tier 2

The Pyrolysis of Biosolids in a Novel Closed Coupled Pyrolysis and Gasification Technology: Pilot Plant Trials, Aspen Plus Modelling, and a Techno-Economic Analysis

Researchers tested a novel closed-coupled pyrolysis and gasification system for processing biosolids (sewage sludge), measuring energy recovery and the fate of contaminants including microplastics during thermal treatment. The system achieved high energy recovery while thermally destroying microplastics present in the biosolids.

2024 Water 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Recent Progress in Low-Cost Catalysts for Pyrolysis of Plastic Waste to Fuels

This review evaluated low-cost catalysts — including zeolites, clays, and bimetallic materials — for the pyrolytic conversion of plastic waste into fuel, comparing their effects on product yield and quality and highlighting promising candidates for scaling up plastic-to-fuel processes.

2021 Catalysts 110 citations
Article Tier 2

On technological solutions for recycling of recycling of polymer waste: A review

This paper is not directly about microplastics; it reviews technological approaches to recycling polymer waste — mechanical, chemical, and energy-based methods — and analyzes their economic and environmental trade-offs. Better plastic recycling technology is relevant to microplastic prevention insofar as it reduces the amount of plastic that degrades into environmental microplastic particles.

2024 E3S Web of Conferences 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Are Reliable and Emerging Technologies Available for Plastic Recycling in a Circular Economy?

This review examines the current landscape of plastic recycling technologies -- including mechanical, thermal, chemical, and biological depolymerization methods such as pyrolysis -- evaluating their readiness for circular economy integration. It concludes that while recycling rates remain below 10% globally, emerging technologies offer pathways toward closed-loop plastic supply chains, though full-scale implementation requires further development and performance assessment.

2022 IntechOpen eBooks 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Perspectives on sustainable plastic treatment: A shift from linear to circular economy

This review examines emerging technologies for converting plastic waste into useful chemicals and fuels, including methods like pyrolysis, photocatalysis, and electrocatalysis. Researchers highlight how these approaches could shift plastic management from a throw-away model to a circular economy where waste becomes a resource. The study identifies remaining knowledge gaps and proposes future research directions for sustainable plastic treatment.

2024 TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic Waste Valorization: Prospects for Green Hydrogen Production

This review assesses the feasibility of producing green hydrogen from plastic waste through pyrolysis and gasification, comparing process efficiency, costs, and carbon emissions across different plastic feedstocks. The authors identify polyolefins as particularly promising feedstocks and outline the technical and economic barriers to scaling these processes.

2024 Current Green Chemistry 1 citations