Catalytic Pyrolysis of Polyethylene with Microporous and Mesoporous Materials: Assessing Performance and Mechanistic Understanding.

Testing the catalytic performance for the catalytic pyrolysis of plastic waste is hampered by mass transfer limitations induced by a size mismatch between the catalyst's pores and the bulky polymer molecules. To investigate this aspect, the catalytic behaviour of a series of microporous and mesoporous materials was assessed in the catalytic pyrolysis of polyethylene (PE). More specifically, a mesoporous material, namely sulfated zirconia (Zr(SO)) on SBA-15, was synthesized to increase the pore accessibility, which reduces mass transfer limitations and thereby enables to better assess the effect of active site density on catalyst activity.