Growing PET waste and demand for sustainable hydrogen present intertwined environmental and energy challenges. PET waste electrolysis offers a promising strategy for simultaneously valorizing PET into value-added chemicals and hydrogen, particularly when powered by renewable electricity. PET is well suited to this approach because its hydrolysable ester backbone enables efficient depolymerization into readily oxidizable ethylene glycol and recoverable terephthalate salts. Replacing the sluggish oxygen evolution reaction with the more favorable ethylene glycol oxidation reaction (EGOR) can lower cell voltage and energy consumption while enabling anodic chemical valorization and cathodic hydrogen production via the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). This review examines PET feedstock suitability, alkaline hydrolysis, electrolyzer configurations, EGOR–HER coupling, electrocatalyst and electrolyte engineering, performance, and reaction mechanisms. Key challenges in catalyst and membrane durability, mechanistic understanding, mass transport, scale-up, process integration, and techno-economic viability are also discussed, highlighting future directions toward scalable circular PET valorization and low-carbon hydrogen production.
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Siu Hua Chang (2026) studied this question.
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