Upcycling chlorinated waste plastics

Abstract

Over the past decade, chlorinated plastics have been widely used as an indispensable thermoplastic owing to their low cost, durability, wide processing adaptability and good overall performance in plenty of end-use applications. One effective pathway to reduce plastic white pollution is to upcycle chlorinated plastics for added value and versatility rather than recycle them. This Primer focuses on upcycling technologies for converting chlorinated waste plastics into additional valuable products and endowing them with added versatility. We describe several upcycling strategies for the conversion of chlorinated waste plastics into value-added products, which involve pretreatment to reduce the chlorine content; pyrolysis, carbonization or catalytic cracking; or chemical modifications such as substitution with functional groups and plasticizers, and grafting with other polymers. Additionally, solvent-based processing is discussed, including solvent extraction, and dissolution, gel casting and solvothermal treatments are also included. This Primer aims to stimulate both research and industry to produce high-quality and high-value chemicals from upcycled chlorinated plastics that are suitable for value-added manufacture to provide the necessary environmental and economic push in the context of carbon neutrality and sustainable development. The upcycling of chlorinated plastics into value-added products is an effective method to reduce plastic pollution. In this Primer, Xu et al. describe upcycling strategies for the conversion of chlorinated waste plastics into value-added products and potential applications for these upcycled plastics.