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Papers
61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Catalyst Design to Address Nylon Plastics Recycling
ClearHigh-selective platinum and palladium capture using polyamide 6: A potent material for platinum group metals’ recovery from spent car catalytic converter
Researchers demonstrated that polyamide 6 — a common microplastic pollutant — can selectively recover platinum and palladium from solution at rates of roughly 90% and 70% respectively without chemical modification, suggesting a dual-purpose approach that recycles a plastic waste material while recovering scarce precious metals from spent catalytic converters.
Switched reaction specificity in polyesterases towards amide bond hydrolysis by enzyme engineering
Researchers engineered enzymes that can break down polyamide plastics like nylon, which are normally very resistant to degradation. This could open new pathways for enzymatic recycling of synthetic fabrics and help address nylon microplastic pollution.
Fabrication of Nylon-6 and Nylon-11 Nanoplastics and Evaluation in Mammalian Cells
Researchers fabricated well-characterized nylon-6 and nylon-11 nanoplastics and evaluated their effects on mammalian cells, addressing a critical gap since most toxicity studies rely on polystyrene beads that do not represent the diversity of plastics found in the environment.
Parametric Life Cycle Assessment of Chemical Recycling of Nylon-6 to Caprolactam
Researchers conducted the first life cycle assessment of four chemical recycling routes for converting waste nylon-6 back to its monomer caprolactam. The study found that a solvent-free alkaline process achieved approximately 80% reduction in global warming potential compared to fossil-based production, though none of the recycling routes fully met net-zero emission targets needed for limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Catalyst Design and Engineering for Enhanced Microplastic Degradation and Upcycling—A Review
This review examined current approaches to microplastic degradation and upcycling, covering photocatalysis, biodegradation, and chemical conversion technologies. The authors identified key challenges in catalyst design and engineering needed to achieve efficient breakdown of microplastics at scale.
Research on Recycling Design of Clothing Textiles Based on Sustainable Development
This review examines sustainable design strategies for recycling and reusing clothing and textiles, covering the full lifecycle from design to end-of-life disposal. Textile recycling is relevant to microplastic pollution because synthetic fabrics like polyester and nylon shed microplastic fibers during washing.
Recycling and Degradation of Polyamides
This review covers methods for recycling and breaking down polyamide (nylon), a widely used engineering plastic whose growing production is creating serious pollution problems. Understanding how nylon degrades is relevant to the microplastics issue because polyamide fibers are one of the most common types of microplastics found in water, soil, and even human tissues.
Catalyst Design and Engineering for Enhanced Microplastic Degradation and Upcycling - A Review
This review covers advances in catalyst design for microplastic degradation and upcycling, examining photocatalytic, Fenton-based, and enzymatic approaches. It evaluates the performance, scalability, and selectivity of different catalyst systems and discusses their potential for converting MP waste into useful chemical feedstocks.
Characterization and Optimization of Biocatalysts for New Recycling Technologies
Researchers investigated the characterisation and optimisation of enzymatic biocatalysts capable of degrading synthetic plastics, addressing the limitations of conventional mechanical recycling that has proven largely ineffective at curbing plastic and microplastic accumulation in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. The work explores how enzyme engineering and directed evolution can improve the efficiency of biological plastic breakdown as a pathway toward circular plastic recycling.
Charting a path to catalytic upcycling of plastic micro/nano fiber pollution from textiles to produce carbon nanomaterials and turquoise hydrogen
Researchers demonstrated proof-of-concept for catalytic upcycling of polyester and cotton textile-derived microfibers into structured solid carbon products, using a defined fiber feedstock to establish a pathway for converting fiber pollution into value-added carbon materials.
Advances in catalytic chemical recycling of synthetic textiles
This review examines catalytic chemical recycling methods for breaking down synthetic textiles into their original building blocks. Researchers surveyed both homogeneous and heterogeneous catalytic systems that could enable a more circular textile economy. The study suggests that these emerging depolymerization technologies could help address the growing problem of textile waste by allowing synthetic fabrics to be recycled back into new materials.
Process Optimization of Solvents Assisted Polyethylene Waste Recycling
Researchers optimized solvent-based chemical recycling of polyethylene plastic waste to recover high-quality recycled material. The study demonstrates that chemical recycling can be tuned to maximize yield and quality, offering a scalable alternative to mechanical recycling that degrades plastic properties over time.
Chemical Recycling of PET Polyester Textile Wastes Using Ag-Doped ZnO Nanoparticles: An Economical Solution for Circular Economy
Researchers developed a chemical recycling method using silver-doped zinc oxide nanoparticles to break down polyester textile waste into reusable materials. Chemical recycling offers a path to recovering value from synthetic fabric waste that currently ends up in landfills or as microfiber pollution in waterways.
Chemical recycling of post-consumer polyester wastes using a tertiary amine organocatalyst
Researchers developed a metal-free chemical recycling method using a common amine catalyst to break down PET and other polyesters from post-consumer plastic waste — including textiles and multilayer packaging — into reusable monomers with 100% yield. This technique offers a simpler, more efficient path to closing the plastic recycling loop.
Advancements in catalysis for plastic resource utilization
This review examines catalytic strategies for converting plastic waste into value-added products and fuels, addressing how catalysis can improve the efficiency and selectivity of plastic valorization processes. The findings point to catalysis as essential for making plastic recycling and upcycling economically viable.
Potential contribution of nanotechnolgy to the circular economy of plastic materials
This paper reviews how nanotechnology could support a circular plastic economy by improving recycled plastic properties and enabling catalytic breakdown of plastics into reusable monomers. Nano-additives and nano-catalysts are identified as promising tools for shifting plastic management from linear waste to resource recovery.
Selective degradation of synthetic polymers through enzymes immobilized on nanocarriers
Researchers investigated selective enzymatic degradation of synthetic polymers by immobilizing lipase and cutinase on nanocarriers, demonstrating that this approach enables targeted depolymerization of plastics while allowing catalyst recovery and reuse for sustainable plastic waste management.
Biotechnological Solutions for Recycling Synthetic Fibers
This review is not directly about microplastics — it covers biotechnological (enzyme-based) methods for recycling synthetic fibers like polyester and nylon, which are a source of microfiber pollution but the paper focuses on fiber-to-monomer recycling rather than microplastic environmental impacts.
Efficient catalytic upcycling of polyester and polycarbonate plastics using NNN-based iron catalyst
Researchers developed an efficient catalytic system using an NNN-based iron pincer catalyst to depolymerize polyester and polycarbonate plastics via hydrogenative methods, enabling either methanolysis into ester monomers or transfer hydrogenation into value-added products. The system provides an eco-friendly alternative for chemical upcycling of plastic waste, addressing the significant environmental burden of polyester accumulation.
Current Advances and Challenges in Chemical Recycling of Polymeric Materials
This review examines current advances and remaining challenges in chemical recycling of polymeric materials as an alternative to mechanical recycling, which degrades material properties with repeated cycling. The authors discuss the high efficiency and simpler preprocessing requirements of chemical recycling methods against a backdrop of approximately 150 million metric tonnes of annual global plastic waste generation.
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.
Chemistry and materials science for a sustainable circular polymeric economy
Researchers reflected on the fundamental chemistry challenges limiting a circular plastic economy — including the sheer variety of polymer types, contamination during use, and imperfect recycling — and argued that solving plastic pollution requires both chemical innovation and systemic non-chemical interventions.
Expanding plastics recycling technologies: chemical aspects, technology status and challenges
This review examined the full life cycle of plastics and evaluated options for managing plastic waste, with a focus on chemical recycling technologies. The study suggests that overcoming barriers to industrial chemical recycling could open new opportunities for reducing plastic pollution.
Recent Advances in Catalytic Chemical Recycling of Polyolefins
This review examines recent scientific advances in catalytic chemical recycling of polyolefins such as polyethylene and polypropylene, which account for nearly 50% of all plastic production by mass. Researchers highlight catalytic processes that can break down polyolefin waste at lower temperatures than pyrolysis, with the goal of upcycling discarded plastics into functional chemicals rather than sending them to landfill.