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

TLDR

Polyethylene recycling typically repurposes waste into lower‑grade materials, yet chemical decomposition could yield higher‑value products, though its strong C–C bonds resist such approaches without high‑pressure hydrogen. The study aims to convert waste polyethylene directly into long‑chain alkylbenzenes, a detergent‑grade feedstock, without external hydrogen. Using a platinum/alumina catalyst, the authors achieve tandem hydrogenolysis and aromatization of polyethylene without added hydrogen. F.

Abstract

A new future for polyethylene Most current plastic recycling involves chopping up the waste and repurposing it in materials with less stringent engineering requirements than the original application. Chemical decomposition at the molecular level could, in principle, lead to higher-value products. However, the carbon-carbon bonds in polyethylene, the most common plastic, tend to resist such approaches without exposure to high-pressure hydrogen. F. Zhang et al. now report that a platinum/alumina catalyst can transform waste polyethylene directly into long-chain alkylbenzenes, a feedstock for detergent manufacture, with no need for external hydrogen (see the Perspective by Weckhuysen). Science , this issue p. 437 ; see also p. 400