Upcycling Polyethylene to High‐Purity Hydrogen under Ambient Conditions via Mechanocatalysis
Rui Gu, Tonghui Wang, Yue Ma, Tong‐Xing Wang, Rui‐Qi Yao, Yingnan Zhao, Zi Wen, Gao‐Feng Han, Xingyou Lang, Qing Jiang
Abstract
Abstract Polyethylene (PE) is the most abundant plastic waste, and its conversion to hydrogen (H 2 ) offers a promising route for clean energy generation. However, PE decomposition typically requires high temperatures due to its strong chemical bonds, leading to significant carbon emissions and low H 2 selectivity (theoretically less than 75 vol % after accounting for further steam‐reforming reactions). Here, we report a mechanocatalytic strategy that upcycles PE into high‐purity H 2 (99.4 vol %) with an exceptional H 2 recovery ratio of 98.5 % (versus 15.7 % via thermocatalysis), using manganese as a catalyst at a low temperature of 45 °C. This method achieves a reaction rate 3 orders of magnitude higher than thermocatalysis. The marked improvement in H 2 recovery ratio is mainly due to metal carbides formation induced by the mechanocatalytic process, which does not catalyze hydrocarbons formation. This work is expected to advance studies of the conversion of polyolefins to high‐purity H 2 with net‐zero carbon emissions.