Plastic waste upcycled to high-value chemicals in one-pot process
Polyethylene chains are broken down and aromatised to produce valuable alkylaromatic products
A one-pot method for converting polyethylenes into more valuable chemicals at low temperature has been demonstrated by researchers in the US. The early-stage research could potentially help tackle the Earth’s ever-growing mountain of waste plastic, and offers an alternative route to chemicals currently produced via energy-intensive processes that consume fossil fuels.