IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v13y2022i1d10.1038_s41467-022-28563-7.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Non-thermal plasma-assisted rapid hydrogenolysis of polystyrene to high yield ethylene

Author

Listed:
  • Libo Yao

    (The University of Akron)

  • Jaelynne King

    (The University of Akron)

  • Dezhen Wu

    (The University of Akron)

  • Jiayang Ma

    (The University of Akron)

  • Jialu Li

    (The University of Akron)

  • Rongxuan Xie

    (The University of Akron)

  • Steven S. C. Chuang

    (The University of Akron)

  • Toshikazu Miyoshi

    (The University of Akron)

  • Zhenmeng Peng

    (The University of Akron)

Abstract

The evergrowing plastic production and the caused concerns of plastic waste accumulation have stimulated the need for waste plastic chemical recycling/valorization. Current methods suffer from harsh reaction conditions and long reaction time. Herein we demonstrate a non-thermal plasma-assisted method for rapid hydrogenolysis of polystyrene (PS) at ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure, generating high yield (>40 wt%) of C1–C3 hydrocarbons and ethylene being the dominant gas product (Selectivity of ethylene, SC2H4 > 70%) within ~10 min. The fast reaction kinetics is attributed to highly active hydrogen plasma, which can effectively break bonds in polymer and initiate hydrogenolysis under mild condition. Efficient hydrogenolysis of post-consumer PS materials using this method is also demonstrated, suggesting a promising approach for fast retrieval of small molecular hydrocarbon modules from plastic materials as well as a good capability to process waste plastics in complicated conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Libo Yao & Jaelynne King & Dezhen Wu & Jiayang Ma & Jialu Li & Rongxuan Xie & Steven S. C. Chuang & Toshikazu Miyoshi & Zhenmeng Peng, 2022. "Non-thermal plasma-assisted rapid hydrogenolysis of polystyrene to high yield ethylene," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-8, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:13:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-022-28563-7
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-28563-7
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-28563-7
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41467-022-28563-7?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Laurent Lebreton & Anthony Andrady, 2019. "Future scenarios of global plastic waste generation and disposal," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 5(1), pages 1-11, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yijie Xu & Ning Liu & Ying Lin & Xingqian Mao & Hongtao Zhong & Ziqiao Chang & Mikhail N. Shneider & Yiguang Ju, 2024. "Enhancements of electric field and afterglow of non-equilibrium plasma by Pb(ZrxTi1−x)O3 ferroelectric electrode," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-10, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Evangelos Danopoulos & Maureen Twiddy & Jeanette M Rotchell, 2020. "Microplastic contamination of drinking water: A systematic review," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(7), pages 1-23, July.
    2. Nakayama, Tadanobu & Osako, Masahiro, 2023. "Development of a process-based eco-hydrology model for evaluating the spatio-temporal dynamics of macro- and micro-plastics for the whole of Japan," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 476(C).
    3. Rumana Hossain & Md Tasbirul Islam & Riya Shanker & Debishree Khan & Katherine Elizabeth Sarah Locock & Anirban Ghose & Heinz Schandl & Rita Dhodapkar & Veena Sahajwalla, 2022. "Plastic Waste Management in India: Challenges, Opportunities, and Roadmap for Circular Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-34, April.
    4. Xuemeng Zhang & Chao Liu & Yuexi Chen & Guanghong Zheng & Yinguang Chen, 2022. "Source separation, transportation, pretreatment, and valorization of municipal solid waste: a critical review," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(10), pages 11471-11513, October.
    5. Trieu Nguyen, Uyen Nhat & Van Lam, Do & Shim, Hyung Cheoul & Lee, Seung-Mo, 2021. "Leaf-derived porous carbon synthesized by carbothermic reduction," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 116-123.
    6. Tobias Börger & Nick Hanley & Robert J. Johnston & Keila Meginnis & Tom Ndebele & Ghamz E. Ali Siyal & Frans de Vries, 2024. "Equity preferences and abatement cost sharing in international environmental agreements," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 106(1), pages 416-441, January.
    7. Andrea Ballatore & Teun Johannes Verhagen & Zhije Li & Stefano Cucurachi, 2022. "This city is not a bin: Crowdmapping the distribution of urban litter," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 26(1), pages 197-212, February.
    8. Mehrab Nodehi & Vahid Mohammad Taghvaee, 2022. "Applying Circular Economy to Construction Industry through Use of Waste Materials: A Review of Supplementary Cementitious Materials, Plastics, and Ceramics," Circular Economy and Sustainability,, Springer.
    9. Aditya Chidepatil & Prabhleen Bindra & Devyani Kulkarni & Mustafa Qazi & Meghana Kshirsagar & Krishnaswamy Sankaran, 2020. "From Trash to Cash: How Blockchain and Multi-Sensor-Driven Artificial Intelligence Can Transform Circular Economy of Plastic Waste?," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-16, April.
    10. Adina-Iuliana Jigani & Camelia Delcea & Corina Ioanăș, 2020. "Consumers’ Behavior in Selective Waste Collection: A Case Study Regarding the Determinants from Romania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-35, August.
    11. Choi, Dongho & Jung, Sungyup & Lee, Sang Soo & Lin, Kun-Yi Andrew & Park, Young-Kwon & Kim, Hana & Tsang, Yiu Fai & Kwon, Eilhann E., 2021. "Leveraging carbon dioxide to control the H2/CO ratio in catalytic pyrolysis of fishing net waste," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    12. Yanxu Zhang & Peipei Wu & Ruochong Xu & Xuantong Wang & Lili Lei & Amina T. Schartup & Yiming Peng & Qiaotong Pang & Xinle Wang & Lei Mai & Ruwei Wang & Huan Liu & Xiaotong Wang & Arjen Luijendijk & E, 2023. "Plastic waste discharge to the global ocean constrained by seawater observations," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-12, December.
    13. Fazil, A. & Kumar, Sandeep & Mahajani, Sanjay M., 2022. "Downdraft co-gasification of high ash biomass and plastics," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    14. Changping Zhao & Xinli Qi & Jin Wang & Fengyang Du & Xiaolan Shi, 2022. "Predicting Possible New Links to Future Global Plastic Waste Trade Networks," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-22, April.
    15. Isaac Omondi & Misuzu Asari, 2023. "Impact of Policy Design on Plastic Waste Reduction in Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-16, December.
    16. Hans Breukelman & Harold Krikke & Ansje Löhr, 2019. "Failing Services on Urban Waste Management in Developing Countries: A Review on Symptoms, Diagnoses, and Interventions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-31, December.
    17. Ajayi, V. & Reiner, D., 2020. "Consumer Willingness to Pay for Reducing the Environmental Footprint of Green Plastics," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 20110, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    18. Athanasios Polyportis & Lise Magnier & Ruth Mugge, 2023. "Guidelines to Foster Consumer Acceptance of Products Made from Recycled Plastics," Circular Economy and Sustainability,, Springer.
    19. Choi, Min-Jun & Jeong, Yong-Seong & Kim, Joo-Sik, 2021. "Air gasification of polyethylene terephthalate using a two-stage gasifier with active carbon for the production of H2 and CO," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 223(C).
    20. Md. Shahruk Nur-A-Tomal & Farshid Pahlevani & Saroj Bhattacharyya & Bill Joe & Charlotte Wesley & Veena Sahajwalla, 2023. "Sustainable Transformation of Waste Soft Plastics into High-Quality Flexible Sheets," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-17, November.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:13:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-022-28563-7. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.