Recent advances in polyolefinic plastic pyrolysis to produce fuels and chemicals

Abstract

Plastic waste has become a major global concern, due to the widespread use of plastics, resulting in plastic waste accumulation in landfills, and poor plastic waste management that has caused discarded plastics to accumulate in oceans, worldwide. Pyrolysis, a thermochemical treatment technique, offers a sustainable and efficient solution by reducing pollution and recovering valuable energy and products. This paper provides an overview of existing pyrolysis techniques for plastic waste and discusses the parameters that influence product yield and selectivity. It explores the impact of different catalysts on the pyrolysis process and offers a comparative assessment with the conventional pyrolysis. By recovering plastic waste through pyrolysis, the dependence on non-renewable fossil fuels can be reduced, bolstering energy sustainability while mitigating plastic waste’s environmental repercussions. This paper also discusses the deactivation and regeneration mechanisms of the catalysts, as well as strategies to optimize liquid oil production from plastic waste, highlighting the potential for utilizing pyrolysis-derived liquid oil as a more sustainable energy source. Lastly, the paper includes a discussion on the future outlook of the pyrolysis industry. This review would provide recommendations for future research directions, enabling researchers and stakeholders to identify key areas of interest and develop new projects accordingly.