Microwave-initiated catalytic deconstruction of plastic 2 waste into hydrogen and high-value carbon

Journal article

The ubiquitous challenge of plastic waste has led to the modern descriptor plastisphere to represent the human-made plastic environment and ecosystem. Here we report a straightforward rapid method for the catalytic deconstruction of various plastic feedstocks into hydrogen and high-value carbons. We use microwaves together with abundant and inexpensive iron-based catalysts as microwave susceptors to initiate the catalytic deconstruction process. The one-step process typically takes 30–90 s to transform a sample of mechanically pulverized commercial plastic into hydrogen and (predominantly) multiwalled carbon nanotubes. A high hydrogen yield of 55.6 mmol g–1plastic is achieved, with over 97% of the theoretical mass of hydrogen being extracted from the deconstructed plastic. The approach is demonstrated on widely used, real-world plastic waste. This proof-of-concept advance highlights the potential of plastic waste itself as a valuable energy feedstock for the production of hydrogen and high-value carbon materials.

Authors: Jie, X; Li, W; Slocombe,D; Gao, Y; Banerjee, I

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Nature Research
• Journal: Nature Catalysis
• Volume: 3
• Pages: 902-912
• Publication date: 2020-10-12
• Acceptance date: 2020-09-01
• DOI: 10.1038/s41929-020-00518-5
• EISSN: 2520-1158
• Language: English
• Keywords: FFR