Naphtha (C5-C12 alkanes) is a platform feedstock in the petroleum industry and an ideal target for reutilizing plastic waste at scale. Hydrocracking has emerged as a promising technology for deconstructing polyolefins to naphtha. However, contemporary catalysts rely on Pt to achieve high rates, while earth-abundant metals (EAM) perform poorly. Herein, we develop high-performance Ni/BEA catalysts for polyolefin hydrocracking, achieving complete low-density polyethylene (LDPE) deconstruction with 80 % maximum naphtha yield within 12 h at 250 °C, 60 bar H2, and a catalyst-to-polymer ratio of 1:100. These catalysts are versatile, accommodating virgin resins and commercial polymer products, and are directly reusable and regenerable. Comparative analysis highlights that 5Ni/BEA(25) exhibits the highest naphtha productivity of 11.4 $$\huge{(}$$$$\frac{g_{Naphtha}}{g_{cat}{•h}}$$$$\huge{)}$$, surpassing previously reported Pt- and EAM-based catalysts by 2.5–6.2x. Technoeconomic and life-cycle analyses reveal naphtha from LDPE hydrocracking is economically and environmentally competitive to fossil-fuel-derived naphtha. In conclusion, these advancements pave the way for the industrial implementation of earth-abundant Ni-based catalysts in polyolefin hydrocracking, followed by retrofitting steam crackers to address plastics waste at scale.
Vance, Brandon C., et al. "Unlocking naphtha from polyolefins using Ni-based hydrocracking catalysts." Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 487, no. C, Mar. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2024.150468
Vance, Brandon C., Yuliu, Zhifei, Najmi, Sean, et al., "Unlocking naphtha from polyolefins using Ni-based hydrocracking catalysts," Chemical Engineering Journal 487, no. C (2024), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2024.150468
@article{osti_2576455,
author = {Vance, Brandon C. and Yuliu, Zhifei and Najmi, Sean and Selvam, Esun and Granite, Jack E. and Yu, Kewei and Ierapetritou, Marianthi G. and Vlachos, Dionisios G.},
title = {Unlocking naphtha from polyolefins using Ni-based hydrocracking catalysts},
annote = {Naphtha (C5-C12 alkanes) is a platform feedstock in the petroleum industry and an ideal target for reutilizing plastic waste at scale. Hydrocracking has emerged as a promising technology for deconstructing polyolefins to naphtha. However, contemporary catalysts rely on Pt to achieve high rates, while earth-abundant metals (EAM) perform poorly. Herein, we develop high-performance Ni/BEA catalysts for polyolefin hydrocracking, achieving complete low-density polyethylene (LDPE) deconstruction with 80 % maximum naphtha yield within 12 h at 250 °C, 60 bar H2, and a catalyst-to-polymer ratio of 1:100. These catalysts are versatile, accommodating virgin resins and commercial polymer products, and are directly reusable and regenerable. Comparative analysis highlights that 5Ni/BEA(25) exhibits the highest naphtha productivity of 11.4 $\huge{(}$$\frac{g_{Naphtha}}{g_{cat}{•h}}$$\huge{)}$, surpassing previously reported Pt- and EAM-based catalysts by 2.5–6.2x. Technoeconomic and life-cycle analyses reveal naphtha from LDPE hydrocracking is economically and environmentally competitive to fossil-fuel-derived naphtha. In conclusion, these advancements pave the way for the industrial implementation of earth-abundant Ni-based catalysts in polyolefin hydrocracking, followed by retrofitting steam crackers to address plastics waste at scale.},
doi = {10.1016/j.cej.2024.150468},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/2576455},
journal = {Chemical Engineering Journal},
issn = {ISSN 1385-8947},
number = {C},
volume = {487},
place = {United States},
publisher = {Elsevier BV},
year = {2024},
month = {03}}