A pioneering team led by the University of Delaware has developed a revolutionary catalyst that transforms plastic waste into liquid fuels more efficiently, paving the way for sustainable solutions to plastic pollution.
A team of researchers led by the University of Delaware have made a significant breakthrough in the fight against plastic pollution. The team has developed a novel catalyst that converts plastic waste into liquid fuels more quickly and with fewer unwanted byproducts compared to current methods.
Plastics, while valued for their durability, pose a major environmental challenge due to their persistence as tiny debris known as microplastics, which infiltrate ecosystems and threaten human health.
Traditional recycling processes degrade the quality of plastics over time, failing to keep pace with the sheer volume of global plastic waste.
The new catalyst, published in the journal Chem Catalysis, represents a critical advance in plastic upcycling — transforming waste into valuable resources. This innovation is poised to substantially reduce plastic pollution and foster sustainable fuel production.
“Instead of letting plastics pile up as waste, upcycling treats them like solid fuels that can be transformed into useful liquid fuels and chemicals, offering a faster, more efficient and environmentally friendly solution,” senior author Dongxia Liu, the Robert K. Grasseli Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Delaware, said in a news release.
The team’s research focuses on hydrogenolysis, a method that uses hydrogen gas and a catalyst to break down the polymers in plastics into liquid fuels suitable for transportation and industrial use.
Traditional catalysts often face efficiency challenges because polymer molecules struggle to interact with the catalyst’s active sites.
However, the University of Delaware-led team addressed this by innovating with MXenes (pronounced max-eens), a type of nanomaterial. They transformed MXenes into mesoporous MXenes, creating larger, open pores that allow molten plastic to flow more freely, enhancing the efficiency of the upcycling process.
“MXenes form two-dimensional layers, like the pages of a book. These stacked layers in the closed book make it difficult for molten plastic to move through easily, limiting contact with the catalyst,” added first author Ali Kamali, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. “To improve the design, we inserted silica pillars to open up the space between MXene layers, allowing the polymers and intermediate compounds that form during the reaction to flow more easily.”
Testing their mesoporous MXene-supported ruthenium catalyst with low-density polyethylene (LDPE) — a common plastic used in shopping bags and films — the team observed remarkable results.
In a pressurized reactor, combining LDPE with the catalyst and hydrogen gas, the reaction rates were almost twice as fast as previously reported for LDPE hydrogenolysis. The catalyst also boasted high selectivity, producing targeted liquid fuels while minimizing undesired byproducts such as methane.
“We were able to produce a material that not only speeds the conversion but also improves the quality of the fuel products. This advance highlights the potential of nanostructured mesoporous catalysts to enhance plastic upcycling,” Liu added.
Looking ahead, the research team plans to refine the catalyst further and develop a comprehensive library of MXene-based catalysts to process various types of plastics. They aim to collaborate with industry partners, transforming plastic waste into fuels and chemicals that benefit the environment and provide economic value to local communities.
Source: University of Delaware