Abstract
Plastic is one of the most widely used materials in industries including packaging, building, and construction due to its lightweight, low cost, durability, and versatility. However, the mass production of plastics has exacerbated plastic pollution. Globally, plastic waste is predominantly incinerated, landfilled, or released into the environment; only 5–6% is recycled in the United States. Although conventional management protocols such as incineration and landfilling are evidently effective for plastic waste disposal, they are associated with significant environmental and societal challenges. In addition, most recycled plastic is downcycled, and thus does not provide sufficient incentive to use recycled materials instead of virgin materials. This review discusses thermo-chemical upcycling processes such as (catalytic) pyrolysis and heterogeneous catalysis. Furthermore, we present the recent progress in the thermo-chemical upgrading of single-type plastic waste, heterogeneous plastic mixtures, and post-consumer plastic waste obtained from different locations and, finally, suggest future research directions.
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This study was supported by the Research Program funded by the SeoulTech (Seoul National University of Science and Technology).
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Insoo Ro obtained his B.S. degree magna cum laude in Chemical Engineering in 2012 from Rice University. He received Ph.D. degree in Chemical Engineering from University of Wisconsin at Madison in 2017 under the supervision of Profs. James Dumesic and George Huber. Following postdoctoral work at University of California at Santa Barbara with Professor Phillip Christopher in the area of single-atom catalysis, Insoo Ro joined Seoul National University of Science and Technology in 2020. He is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. He has published more than 25 papers and has been recognized with several awards including Doh WonSuk Memorial (2016), Kokes Award (2017), Miwon Young Scientist Award (2021), and Young Researcher Award (2021).
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Jung, S., Ro, I. Strategic use of thermo-chemical processes for plastic waste valorization. Korean J. Chem. Eng. 40, 693–705 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11814-023-1398-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11814-023-1398-y