Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
• Plasma-enabled approach for rapid upcycling of mixed plastic waste from real-world sources. • Simultaneous production of carbon nanotube composites and hydrogen using nanospherical pre-catalysts. • Perovskite-based pre-catalysts enhance the efficiency of converting plastic waste into hydrogen. • Life cycle assessment highlighted the plasma pyrolysis process to be more energy-efficient. In this study, we present a novel plasma-enabled method for efficiently decomposing mixed plastic waste into hydrogen and valuable carbon materials. The plasma pyrolysis process exhibited superior performance compared to conventional thermal pyrolysis, achieving an H₂ yield of 24.4 mmol / g plastic , which is >25 times higher than that of the thermal pyrolysis process. The addition of La 0.6 Ca 0.4 FeO 3− δ nano spheres as a pre-catalyst further enhanced hydrogen yield by 1.8 times while facilitating the production of value-added carbon nanotube composite materials. A life-cycle assessment demonstrated that recycling mixed plastic waste via this method significantly reduces CO₂ emissions compared to conventional thermal pyrolysis. This innovative approach shows great potential and provides a scalable and sustainable solution for managing complex mixed plastic waste, promoting circular economy objectives while enabling industrial applications in clean energy production and advanced material development.
Chen et al. (Thu,) studied this question.