Low-temperature upcycling of polyolefins into liquid alkanes via tandem cracking-alkylation.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 36821681.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/science.ade7485.
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Abstract
Selective upcycling of polyolefin waste has been hampered by the relatively high temperatures that are required to cleave the carbon-carbon (C-C) bonds at reasonably high rates. We present a distinctive approach that uses a highly ionic reaction environment to increase the polymer reactivity and lower the energy of ionic transition states. Combining endothermic cleavage of the polymer C-C bonds with exothermic alkylation reactions of the cracking products enables full conversion of polyethylene and polypropylene to liquid isoalkanes (C<sub>6</sub> to C<sub>10</sub>) at temperatures below 100°C. Both reactions are catalyzed by a Lewis acidic species that is generated in a chloroaluminate ionic liquid. The alkylate product forms a separate phase and is easily separated from the reactant catalyst mixture. The process can convert unprocessed postconsumer items to high-quality liquid alkanes with high yields.