Polyethylene upcycling to long-chain alkylaromatics by tandem hydrogenolysis/aromatization

The current scale of plastics production and the accompanying waste disposal problems represent a largely untapped opportunity for chemical upcycling. Tandem catalytic conversion by Pt/g-Al2O3 converts various polyethylene grades in high yields (up to 80 wt%) to low molecular-weight liquid/wax products, in the absence of added solvent or H2, with little production of light gases. The major components are valuable long-chain alkylaromatics and alkylnaphthenes (average ca. C30, Ð = 1.1). Coupling exothermic hydrogenolysis with endothermic aromatization renders the overall transformation thermodynamically accessible despite the moderate reaction temperature of 280 °C. This approach demonstrates how waste polyolefins can be a viable feedstock for the generation of molecular hydrocarbon products.