Highly Efficient Recycling Waste Plastic into Hydrogen and Carbon Nanotubes through a Double Layer Microwave-Assisted Pyrolysis Method

Microwave-assisted pyrolysis of PE to hydrogen and carbon material has great potential to solve the problem of waste PE induced white pollution and provide a promising way to produce hydrogen energy. To increase the hydrogen yield, a new microwave-assisted pyrolysis procedure should be developed. In the present study, a facile double-layer microwave-assisted pyrolysis (DLMP) method is developed to pyrolyze PE. Within this method, PE can be converted to hydrogen, multiwalled carbon nanotubes with extremely high efficiency compared with the traditional methods. A high hydrogen yield of 66.4 mmol g-1PE is achieved, which is approximate to 93% of the upper limit of the theoretical hydrogen yield generated from the PE pyrolysis process. The mechanism of high hydrogen yield during the microwave-assisted pyrolysis of PE using the DLMP method is also clarified in detail. The DLMP method paved the potential way for recycling plastic waste into high-value-added products. Double layer microwave-assisted pyrolysis (DLMP) method is a highly efficient method to pyrolyze polyethylene (PE). With the application of the DLMP method during the pyrolysis of PE, the hydrogen yield can reach 66.4 mmol g-1PE. image