Expanding plastics recycling technologies: chemical aspects, technology status and challenges

Houqian Li; Horacio A. Aguirre-Villegas; Robert D. Allen; Xianglan Bai; Craig H. Benson; Gregg T. Beckham; Sabrina L. Bradshaw; Jessica L. Brown; Robert C. Brown; Victor S. Cecon; Julia B. Curley; Greg W. Curtzwiler; Son Dong; Soumika Gaddameedi; John E. García; Ive Hermans; Min Soo Kim; Jiaze Ma; Lesli O. Mark; Manos Mavrikakis; Olumide O. Olafasakin; Tim A. Osswald; Konstantinos G. Papanikolaou; Harish Radhakrishnan; Marco Antonio Sanchez Castillo; Kevin L. Sánchez-Rivera; Khairun N. Tumu; Reid C. Van Lehn; Keith L. Vorst; Mark M. Wright; Jiayang Wu; Victor M. Zavala; Panzheng Zhou; George W. Huber

doi:10.1039/D2GC02588D

Expanding plastics recycling technologies: chemical aspects, technology status and challenges†

Houqian Li,

^a Horacio A. Aguirre-Villegas,^b Robert D. Allen,^cd Xianglan Bai,

^e Craig H. Benson,^f Gregg T. Beckham,

^cd Sabrina L. Bradshaw,^f Jessica L. Brown,^eg Robert C. Brown,

^eg Victor S. Cecon,

^h Julia B. Curley,^cd Greg W. Curtzwiler,

^h Son Dong,ⁱ Soumika Gaddameedi,^j John E. García,^a Ive Hermans,

^ai Min Soo Kim,^a Jiaze Ma,^a Lesli O. Mark,ⁱ Manos Mavrikakis,

^a Olumide O. Olafasakin,^e Tim A. Osswald,^k Konstantinos G. Papanikolaou,

^a Harish Radhakrishnan,^e Marco Antonio Sanchez Castillo,^l Kevin L. Sánchez-Rivera,^a Khairun N. Tumu,^h Reid C. Van Lehn,

^a Keith L. Vorst,^h Mark M. Wright,

^e Jiayang Wu,^a Victor M. Zavala,^a Panzheng Zhou^a and George W. Huber

*^a

Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

^a Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
E-mail: gwhuber@wisc.edu

^b Biological Systems Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA

^c Renewable Resources and Enabling Sciences Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO, USA

^d BOTTLE Consortium, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO, USA

^e Department of Mechanical Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA

^f Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA

^g Bioeconomy Institute, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA

^h Polymer and Food Protection Consortium, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA

ⁱ Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706 USA

^j Zoology and Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA

^k Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA

^l Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí 78210, Mexico

Abstract

Less than 10% of the plastics generated globally are recycled, while the rest are incinerated, accumulated in landfills, or leak into the environment. New technologies are emerging to chemically recycle waste plastics that are receiving tremendous interest from academia and industry. Chemists and chemical engineers need to understand the fundamentals of these technologies to design improved systems for chemical recycling and upcycling of waste plastics. In this paper, we review the entire life cycle of plastics and options for the management of plastic waste to address barriers to industrial chemical recycling and further provide perceptions on possible opportunities with such materials. Knowledge and insights to enhance plastic recycling beyond its current scale are provided. Outstanding research problems and where researchers in the field should focus their efforts in the future are also discussed.

This article is part of the themed collections: Green Chemistry Reviews and 2022 Green Chemistry Hot Articles

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Expanding plastics recycling technologies: chemical aspects, technology status and challenges†

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