Electroreforming of plastic wastes for value-added products

Abstract

The problem of plastic pollution is becoming increasingly serious, and there is an urgent need to reduce the use of plastics and to improve the recovery rate of plastic wastes. Plastic wastes can be transformed into value-added chemicals at the anode through electrocatalytic conversion, while coupling with cathodic reduction reactions to achieve cogeneration of valuable anodic and cathodic products. The plastic electroreforming technology has unprecedented advantages, including a green and decentralizable process, renewable energy storage, ecological benefits, resource recovery, cost-effectiveness, and so on. Herein, we present a mini review about recent advances in this topic. We first discuss the electrooxidation mechanisms of different plastic wastes (such as polylactic acid, polyethylene glycol terephthalate, polyethylene, polyethylene furanoate, polybutylene terephthalate, and polyamides). Then, the progress of plastic waste-assisted electrolysis systems is summarized, including plastic waste-assisted water splitting for hydrogen production and oxygen reduction, as well as plastic electroreforming coupled with CO₂ reduction, and the nitrate reduction reaction. Finally, the development prospects and challenges in this field are introduced and discussed. This review aims to provide a concise overview of the emerging plastic electroreforming, thus offering insight on the design of efficient and stable plastic-assisted electrolysis systems.