Exploring the Potential of Transforming Sustainable Waste Thermoplastics into Liquid Petrochemicals

Plastics are remarkable materials in the 21st century, owing to their exceptional properties. Waste materials like PP (Polypropylene), PS (Polystyrene), and polyethylene are precious due to their composition, comprising long chains of hydrocarbon materials. A pyrolysis study explores the promising prospects of converting waste thermoplastics into green liquid petrochemicals. It is offering a sustainable solution to address both plastic waste and the growing demand for petrochemical feedstocks. Remarkably, utilizing a copper carbonate (CuCO₃) catalyst resulted in the recovery of up to 94% of liquid green petrochemicals from polyethylene waste plastics, with a carbon range spanning C₄ to C₂₈. These petrochemicals have undergone thorough analysis, encompassing physicochemical assessments, NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance), FT-IR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy), GC-MS-MS (Gas Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry), and GC×GC/TOFMS (Two-Dimensional Gas Chromatography and Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry) techniques, and their chemical composition was 7.63% paraffin, 53.67% branched/cyclic hydrocarbons, 14.09% aromatics, 0.33% phenanthrenes, and 24.30% remained unclassified. Furthermore, the study explores the potential applications of these eco-friendly liquid petrochemicals across diverse industries, including fuels and chemicals, thereby exemplifying the transformative potential of this innovative approach in advancing towards a more sustainable and circular economy.