加州大学圣芭芭拉分校Susannah L. Scott课题组近日取得一项新成果。经过不懈努力，他们开发出通过串联氢解作用/芳构化将聚乙烯升级改造为长链烷基芳烃。 该项研究成果发表在2020年10月23日出版的《科学》杂志上。

当前的塑料生产规模以及随之而来的废物处理问题代表了化学循环利用的大部分未开发的机会。研究人员开发了负载在γ-氧化铝上的铂催化串联催化转化过程，可以将多种聚乙烯以高产率（最高80％重量百分比）降解为低分子量液体/蜡产品，无需添加溶剂或分子氢，其几乎不产生轻气体。主要成分是有价值的长链烷基芳烃和烷基环烷烃（平均C30，分散度D = 1.1）。尽管280°C的反应温度较为温和，放热的氢解反应和吸热的芳构化反应的结合使得整体转化在热力学上可行。

这种方法演示了废弃的聚烯烃能够用作可行的原料产生分子烃类产物。

附：英文原文

Title: Polyethylene upcycling to long-chain alkylaromatics by tandem hydrogenolysis/aromatization

Author: Fan Zhang, Manhao Zeng, Ryan D. Yappert, Jiakai Sun, Yu-Hsuan Lee, Anne M. LaPointe, Baron Peters, Mahdi M. Abu-Omar, Susannah L. Scott

Issue&Volume: 2020/10/23

Abstract: The current scale of plastics production and the accompanying waste disposal problems represent a largely untapped opportunity for chemical upcycling. Tandem catalytic conversion by platinum supported on γ-alumina converts various polyethylene grades in high yields (up to 80 weight percent) to low-molecular-weight liquid/wax products, in the absence of added solvent or molecular hydrogen, with little production of light gases. The major components are valuable long-chain alkylaromatics and alkylnaphthenes (average ~C30, dispersity D = 1.1). Coupling exothermic hydrogenolysis with endothermic aromatization renders the overall transformation thermodynamically accessible despite the moderate reaction temperature of 280°C. This approach demonstrates how waste polyolefins can be a viable feedstock for the generation of molecular hydrocarbon products.

DOI: 10.1126/science.abc5441

Source: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/370/6515/437