Issue 16, 2023

Catalytic tandem dehydrochlorination–hydrogenation of PVC towards valorisation of chlorinated plastic waste

Abstract

Chemical treatment of end-of-life PVC at high temperature often results in the formation of polyacetylene and eventually aromatic char. These insoluble conjugated polymers lead to industrial reactor blockages, and limit the efficiency in recycling chlorinated plastic waste. To address this challenge, a solvent-based tandem dehydrochlorination–hydrogenation process is proposed for the conversion of PVC to a saturated polymer backbone. When combining tetrabutylphosphonium ionic liquids and homogeneous Rh catalysts under H2 pressure, 81% dehydrochlorination is reached in 2 h, with the hydrogenation proceeding smoothly with minimal catalyst use of 0.5–2.0 mol% Rh. This process for PVC dechlorination yields soluble products that lack aromatics, have high degrees of dechlorination and possess a tunable content of double bonds. The chemical structures of the partially unsaturated polymer products and of the different structural motifs in the product are accurately monitored by a liquid 1H-NMR method. Finally, X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) sheds light on the catalytic Rh species during the tandem process, which are stabilized by the ionic liquid. This tandem process enables rapid PVC conversion to a saturated organic product, with polyethylene segments giving the opportunity for ensuing recycling steps.

Graphical abstract: Catalytic tandem dehydrochlorination–hydrogenation of PVC towards valorisation of chlorinated plastic waste

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
19 2 2023
Accepted
30 3 2023
First published
04 4 2023
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Chem. Sci., 2023,14, 4401-4412

Catalytic tandem dehydrochlorination–hydrogenation of PVC towards valorisation of chlorinated plastic waste

G. O'Rourke, T. Hennebel, M. Stalpaert, A. Skorynina, A. Bugaev, K. Janssens, L. Van Emelen, V. Lemmens, R. De Oliveira Silva, C. Colemonts, P. Gabriels, D. Sakellariou and D. De Vos, Chem. Sci., 2023, 14, 4401 DOI: 10.1039/D3SC00945A

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications, without requesting further permission from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given and it is not used for commercial purposes.

To request permission to reproduce material from this article in a commercial publication, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party commercial publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements