title: Efficient and selective degradation of polyethylenes into liquid fuels and waxes under mild conditions.
abstract: Polyethylene (PE) is the largest-volume synthetic polymer, and its chemical inertness makes its degradation by low-energy processes a challenging problem. We report a tandem catalytic cross alkane metathesis method for highly efficient degradation of polyethylenes under mild conditions. With the use of widely available, low-value, short alkanes (for example, petroleum ethers) as cross metathesis partners, different types of polyethylenes with various molecular weights undergo complete conversion into useful liquid fuels and waxes. This method shows excellent selectivity for linear alkane formation, and the degradation product distribution (liquid fuels versus waxes) can be controlled by the catalyst structure and reaction time. In addition, the catalysts are compatible with various polyolefin additives; therefore, common plastic wastes, such as postconsumer polyethylene bottles, bags, and films could be converted into valuable chemical feedstocks without any pretreatment.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Organometallic Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 345 Lingling Road, Shanghai 200032, China.
authors.forename: Xiangqing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Organometallic Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 345 Lingling Road, Shanghai 200032, China.
authors.forename: Chuan
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4447-0576
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, 1102 Natural Sciences 2, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-2025, USA.
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2934-3608
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Friedberger
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, 1102 Natural Sciences 2, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-2025, USA.
authors.forename: Zhibin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Guan
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Organometallic Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 345 Lingling Road, Shanghai 200032, China.
authors.forename: Zheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000473:Alkanes / Q000737:chemistry; D000537:Aluminum Oxide / Q000737:chemistry; D002384:Catalysis; D004736:Energy-Generating Resources; D006865:Hydrogenation; D009821:Oils / Q000737:chemistry; D011095:Polyethylenes / Q000737:chemistry*; D014885:Waxes / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000473:Alkanes; D009821:Oils; D011095:Polyethylenes; D014885:Waxes; D000537:Aluminum Oxide
keywords: alkane metathesis; feedstock recovery; iridium catalyst; liquid fuel; polyethylene; polymer degradation; polymer recycling; wax