Catalysis and Chemical Engineering Global Conference

Catalysis was therefore a factor to be utilized in the decomposition of polymer materials in order to reveal new solutions that the world needed to deal with an ever-growing plastic waste problem. Polymers, as plastics, are hard materials that will take decades or even centuries to decompose in a natural environment. Catalytic processes break the same materials into usable resources as aids in sustainable waste management.

Catalysis-driven polymer degradation is the action of catalysts in enhancing the decomposition of polymer chains to more readily form smaller molecules. It can be used in recycling and subsequent repurposing of plastic wastes in general. In this line, an example is pyrolysis, whereby plastics are heated in the presence of catalysts, which break them down into simpler hydrocarbons. Results of such hydrocarbons can further be used as feedstock for the production of new plastic products, fuels, or other chemicals, thus closing the plastic lifecycle by ensuring effective loop closure.

Another promising approach is hydrolytic degradation, where the polymer is cleaved by water molecules with the assistance of a catalyst. For example, PLA biodegradable plastics can be easily hydrolytically degraded into monomers, which can be recovered as valuable starting materials for some number of cycles of production. Catalytic degradation of wastes from plastics will help minimize plastic waste while accelerating the development of biodegradable materials that are by nature eco-friendly and recyclable.

Another method of degradation is enzymatic degradation, a bio-inspired method wherein one uses enzymes as natural catalysts to degrade polymers. Using this approach, one is able to engineer various enzymes that could break down common plastics such as PET to its major building blocks, and hence recycle the material into new products without losing quality.