Non-catalytic microwave-assisted co-pyrolysis of glycerol and polypropylene: product distribution and synergistic mechanisms for monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons formation.

Authors

Dong Shu, Yuan Zeng, Anqi Dai, Qiuhao Wu, Linyao Ke, Xiaoling Ma, Hui Li, Yunfeng Zhao, Leilei Dai, Roger Ruan, Yunpu Wang

Published in

Environmental research. Pages 125583. Aug 28, 2026. Epub Aug 28, 2026.

Abstract

The conversion of waste plastics into monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (MAHs) via conventional thermochemical methods suffers from poor reaction control and low selectivity. While catalysts can improve product distribution, their inevitable deactivation leads to high operational costs and time-consuming regeneration. Here, we demonstrate a microwave-assisted co-pyrolysis strategy of glycerol and polyolefin plastics without externally added catalysts, which enables enhanced MAHs production. The effects of polyolefin type, feedstock ratio, microwave power, and feeding mode on aromatic distribution were systematically investigated, with in-situ FTIR spectroscopy used to track intermediate formation and transformation. Under optimized conditions with a glycerol/polypropylene mass ratio of 6:4, a microwave power of 800 W, and single-batch feeding, the relative content of MAHs in the pyrolysis oil reached 57.95%. Moreover, MAHs represented 88.7% of the total aromatics, indicating high selectivity toward MAHs without externally added catalysts. In-situ FTIR and product analysis suggest that glycerol preferentially undergoes pyrolysis to generate hydrogen-transfer species and oxygen-containing intermediates. These species are proposed to modulate the reaction environment via hydrogen transfer and deoxygenation, promoting aromatization while suppressing excessive cracking, thereby exhibiting a pronounced synergistic effect. This study provides new insights into the synergistic interactions during glycerol/polypropylene co-pyrolysis. It highlights a potential approach for enhancing MAHs formation from biomass-derived glycerol and waste plastics under microwave-assisted conditions.

PMID:
42665251
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 29 Aug 2026.

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