INS to understand the nature of intermediates in the pyrolysis of LDPE using ZSM-5 catalyst

The issue of plastic waste is a global concern, and “chemical recycling” via plastic pyrolysis offers a viable route towards closing the carbon cycle – creating new monomers from plastics that would otherwise be created from crude oil and preventing more “non-recyclable” plastics from being sent to landfill. In this study, we propose to use INS to characterise hydrocarbon species involved at 3 stages of plastic pyrolysis in H-ZSM-5 catalyst. We plan to physically mix low-density polyethylene with the catalyst and measure at room temperature, heat and measure at 270 °C and heat and measure again at 320 °C. These studies would compliment FTIR studies from our lab work, but crucially offer insight into the low frequency region <1500 cm-1 that by IR are obscured by the zeolite framework. This proposal also supports a parallel QENS proposal submitted.