Vision & Concept

WASTE2H2 Context

Daily basis used plastics cause a huge amount of waste having an enormous impact on the environment and living species at the end-of-life of plastics disposal. In fact, around 300 million tons of plastic are produced annually in the world (1200 Mt expected by 2050) and only less than 9 % of the plastic according to UNEP is recycled, 12 % is incinerated and the 79 % left generates big contamination problems e.g., in the waterways and aquifers limiting the landfill areas.

There are already different ways, not all of them economically viable, to valorize plastic waste e.g., chemical recycling to feedstocks and energy. Besides the recycling of the generated plastic waste, the search for a source of clean and low-cost energy of paramount importance in the current world scenario due to increased population and exponential demand for daily-base plastics and energy.

WASTE2H2 proposes a novel method in which innovative Ionic Liquid-based catalytic systems are combined with microwave irradiation to selectively produce highly pure clean H₂ and valuable decarbonized chemicals from plastic waste, thus addressing plastic waste remediation and sustainable energy generation closing the loop of circular economy and therefore responding to global climate change challenges.

OBJECTIVES

The main objective of WASTE2H2 is to evaluate the feasibility and validate at lab‑scale (TRL4) a new disruptive solution focused on the development of innovative IL‑based catalytic systems that combined with MW irradiation will selectively produce, in continuous‑flow, highly pure clean H₂ and valuable decarbonized chemicals (solid carbon) from plastic waste (Low Density polyethylene (LDPE), Polypropylene (PP) & Polystyrene (PS)) catalytic deconstruction with Greenhouse gases (GHG) zero‑emission. The disruptive solution affords catalysts recovery, facile separation of the co-produced carbon material and pure clean H₂ stream. WASTE2H2 main final objective will be achieved by fulfilling the specific objectives below:

• The selection of Ionic Liquids by computational tools and the synthesis, characterization, and optimization of innovative Ionic Liquid-based catalytic systems.
• The investigation on the effect of the microwave and the catalytic systems on the valorization of LDPE, PP and/or PS for selective generation of decarbonized products.
• The validation of WASTE2H2 technology with the most promising developed catalytic system in small-scale continuous-flow reactor (TRL 4).
• The techno-economic and environmental assessment of WASTE2H2 technology.
• The evaluation of the scope of WASTE2H2 solution.
• The exploitation plan for WASTE2H2 solution and the roadmap to the market.

WASTE2H2 PROJECT’S IMPACT

On the one hand, WASTE2H2 is ambitious in terms of scientific-technical impact because it involves the efficient transformation of plastic waste into decarbonized products such as clean H₂ and valuable carbon solid material covering three big challenges that scientific community must face the mitigation of the climate change, the production of sustainable energy and the management of huge amounts of problematic plastic waste. WASTE2H2 will unambiguously contribute to the decarbonization of the industrial sector and to reduce their dependence on foreign energy sources and feedstocks.

On the other hand, WASTE2H2 economic impact will be based in 4 main pillars:

1. Efficient innovative Ionic Liquid-based catalytic systems leading to increase selectivity to target decarbonized products, avoiding sintering and deactivation of catalytically active species, facilitating separation of the products avoiding costly downstream processes, lowering the overall temperature process saving energy and expensive downstream steps and consequently operating expenses (OPEX).
2. The use of microwaves as heating source allowing to reduce the energy demand of the process compared to conventional heating.
3. The utilization of plastic waste as feedstock avoiding the cost associated to its management and further recycling procedures.
4. The valorization for further commercialization of the generated solid carbon material which selling will contribute to obtain incomes to reduce de final cost of the catalytic cracking process and the produced sustainable energy (H₂).