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Electrocatalytic upcycling of polyethylene terephthalate to commodity chemicals and H2 fuel

Author

Listed:
  • Hua Zhou

    (Tsinghua University)

  • Yue Ren

    (Beijing University of Chemical Technology)

  • Zhenhua Li

    (Beijing University of Chemical Technology)

  • Ming Xu

    (Beijing University of Chemical Technology)

  • Ye Wang

    (Tsinghua University)

  • Ruixiang Ge

    (Tsinghua University)

  • Xianggui Kong

    (Beijing University of Chemical Technology)

  • Lirong Zheng

    (The Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Haohong Duan

    (Tsinghua University)

Abstract

Plastic wastes represent a largely untapped resource for manufacturing chemicals and fuels, particularly considering their environmental and biological threats. Here we report electrocatalytic upcycling of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic to valuable commodity chemicals (potassium diformate and terephthalic acid) and H2 fuel. Preliminary techno-economic analysis suggests the profitability of this process when the ethylene glycol (EG) component of PET is selectively electrooxidized to formate (>80% selectivity) at high current density (>100 mA cm−2). A nickel-modified cobalt phosphide (CoNi0.25P) electrocatalyst is developed to achieve a current density of 500 mA cm−2 at 1.8 V in a membrane-electrode assembly reactor with >80% of Faradaic efficiency and selectivity to formate. Detailed characterizations reveal the in-situ evolution of CoNi0.25P catalyst into a low-crystalline metal oxy(hydroxide) as an active state during EG oxidation, which might be responsible for its advantageous performances. This work demonstrates a sustainable way to implement waste PET upcycling to value-added products.

Suggested Citation

  • Hua Zhou & Yue Ren & Zhenhua Li & Ming Xu & Ye Wang & Ruixiang Ge & Xianggui Kong & Lirong Zheng & Haohong Duan, 2021. "Electrocatalytic upcycling of polyethylene terephthalate to commodity chemicals and H2 fuel," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-9, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:12:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-021-25048-x
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-25048-x
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    Cited by:

    1. Jun Qi & Yadong Du & Qi Yang & Na Jiang & Jiachun Li & Yi Ma & Yangjun Ma & Xin Zhao & Jieshan Qiu, 2023. "Energy-saving and product-oriented hydrogen peroxide electrosynthesis enabled by electrochemistry pairing and product engineering," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-12, December.
    2. Yingxuan Miao & Yunxuan Zhao & Geoffrey I. N. Waterhouse & Run Shi & Li-Zhu Wu & Tierui Zhang, 2023. "Photothermal recycling of waste polyolefin plastics into liquid fuels with high selectivity under solvent-free conditions," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-10, December.
    3. Yuantao Peng & Jie Yang & Chenqiang Deng & Jin Deng & Li Shen & Yao Fu, 2023. "Acetolysis of waste polyethylene terephthalate for upcycling and life-cycle assessment study," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-10, December.
    4. Chen, Zhijie & Wei, Wei & Chen, Xueming & Liu, Yiwen & Shen, Yansong & Ni, Bing-Jie, 2024. "Upcycling of plastic wastes for hydrogen production: Advances and perspectives," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    5. Li, Jie & Yu, Di & Pan, Lanjia & Xu, Xinhai & Wang, Xiaonan & Wang, Yin, 2023. "Recent advances in plastic waste pyrolysis for liquid fuel production: Critical factors and machine learning applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 346(C).
    6. Tongtong Li & Boran Wang & Yu Cao & Zhexuan Liu & Shaogang Wang & Qi Zhang & Jie Sun & Guangmin Zhou, 2024. "Energy-saving hydrogen production by seawater electrolysis coupling tip-enhanced electric field promoted electrocatalytic sulfion oxidation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, December.
    7. Yining Sun & Kui Fan & Jinze Li & Lei Wang & Yusen Yang & Zhenhua Li & Mingfei Shao & Xue Duan, 2024. "Boosting electrochemical oxygen reduction to hydrogen peroxide coupled with organic oxidation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, December.
    8. Yuyang Pan & Huiyan Zhang & Bowen Zhang & Feng Gong & Jianyong Feng & Huiting Huang & Srinivas Vanka & Ronglei Fan & Qi Cao & Mingrong Shen & Zhaosheng Li & Zhigang Zou & Rui Xiao & Sheng Chu, 2023. "Renewable formate from sunlight, biomass and carbon dioxide in a photoelectrochemical cell," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-10, December.
    9. Kumar, Manish & Bolan, Shiv & Padhye, Lokesh P. & Konarova, Muxina & Foong, Shin Ying & Lam, Su Shiung & Wagland, Stuart & Cao, Runzi & Li, Yang & Batalha, Nuno & Ahmed, Mohamed & Pandey, Ashok & Sidd, 2023. "Retrieving back plastic wastes for conversion to value added petrochemicals: opportunities, challenges and outlooks," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 345(C).
    10. Mengyun Hou & Lirong Zheng & Di Zhao & Xin Tan & Wuyi Feng & Jiantao Fu & Tianxin Wei & Minhua Cao & Jiatao Zhang & Chen Chen, 2024. "Microenvironment reconstitution of highly active Ni single atoms on oxygen-incorporated Mo2C for water splitting," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, December.
    11. Hua Zhou & Yue Ren & Bingxin Yao & Zhenhua Li & Ming Xu & Lina Ma & Xianggui Kong & Lirong Zheng & Mingfei Shao & Haohong Duan, 2023. "Scalable electrosynthesis of commodity chemicals from biomass by suppressing non-Faradaic transformations," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-12, December.
    12. Zhiwen Gao & Bing Ma & Shuang Chen & Jingqing Tian & Chen Zhao, 2022. "Converting waste PET plastics into automobile fuels and antifreeze components," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, December.

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