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Polymers
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Thermochemical Conversion of Polymer Waste
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Thermochemical Conversion of Polymer Waste

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Circular and Green Sustainable Polymer Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 1694

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jingchun Huang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Coal Combustion, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Interests: waste utilization; thermochemical conversion; carbon materials; polymers waste recycling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Erwei Leng

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Mechanical and Vehicle Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China
Interests: biomass utilization; CFRP recycling; thermochemical conversion; carbon materials; hydrogen production
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Thermochemical conversion is a promising technology that can simultaneously handle mixed streams of natural-polymer waste (lignocellulosics, chitin, wool, natural rubber) and ever-growing artificial-polymer waste (PE, PP, PET, PS, PVC, PU, PA, PC, PVB, multilayer films, fiber-reinforced composites, tire fluff, micro-plastics, and nano-plastics). This Special Issue of Polymers solicits studies that map how the distinct thermal signatures, hetero-atom contents, and inorganic fillers of these two waste families interact in combustion, pyrolysis, gasification, hydro-liquefaction, etc. Original experiments, simulations, and critical reviews that chart a scalable path for the clean and efficient disposal of waste polymers are welcome, especially when this disposal converts complex, multi-source polymer waste into circular chemical feedstocks, fully exploiting the flexibility of thermochemical conversion.

Dr. Jingchun Huang
Dr. Erwei Leng
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • natural-polymer waste
  • artificial-polymer waste
  • combustion
  • pyrolysis
  • gasification
  • hydro-liquefaction

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 3507 KB  
Article
Evolution of Char Structure and Its Influence on Reactivity During Biomass Pyrolysis: Spatial Scale Effects from Pellet Size to Intra-Pellet Location
by Huping Liu, Yun Yu, Jingyi Wu, Jingchun Huang, Wei Hu, Li Xia, Yu Ru, Maolong Zhang, Minghou Xu and Yu Qiao
Polymers 2026, 18(8), 964; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym18080964 - 15 Apr 2026
Viewed by 345
Abstract
Biomass, composed of natural polymers such as cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, can be converted into circular chemical feedstocks through thermochemical conversion processes like pyrolysis. Char conversion is the rate-limiting step in the thermochemical conversion process, and thus, char reactivity is essential for determining [...] Read more.
Biomass, composed of natural polymers such as cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, can be converted into circular chemical feedstocks through thermochemical conversion processes like pyrolysis. Char conversion is the rate-limiting step in the thermochemical conversion process, and thus, char reactivity is essential for determining the overall efficiency of pellet-based thermochemical processes. Pyrolysis experiments were conducted on rice straw pellets of different sizes (i.e., 8, 10, and 12 mm) in a vertical quartz tube reactor at 700 °C, and then the chemical structure of chars sampled at different stages and locations within a 10 mm pellet was analyzed using Raman spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The results indicate that increasing the pellet size facilitates the growth of polycyclic aromatic structures, as evidenced by the observed variations in the abundance of typical aromatic compounds in bio-oil. This also promotes volatile–char interactions, leading to greater deposition of large aromatic structures on the char surface, thereby enhancing char aromatization. Analogous to the spatial scale effect of pellet size on char structure, the evolution of the char structure within a single pellet exhibits distinct spatial heterogeneity during the initial devolatilization and subsequent char aromatization stages due to the location-dependent coupling of heat/mass transfer limitations and aromatization reactions during pyrolysis. Furthermore, the spatiotemporal evolution of the char structure leads to differences in the specific reactivity: during the devolatilization stage at 75 s, the center exhibits the highest reactivity, whereas the outer surface becomes the most reactive in the subsequent char aromatization stage at 300 s. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermochemical Conversion of Polymer Waste)
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12 pages, 2401 KB  
Article
Kinetic Analysis and Products Characterization of Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Tetra Pak Waste for Bio-Oil Production
by Yuzhen Wang, Ao Lu, Zhuan Liu, Yu Feng, Di Shan and Changqing Fang
Polymers 2025, 17(24), 3246; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17243246 - 5 Dec 2025
Viewed by 881
Abstract
Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of Tetra Pak waste was investigated at 320–440 °C for 10–50 min to produce bio-crude oil. Bio-oil yield increased with temperature and time, reaching about 43 wt% at 40–50 min, while solid residue decreased and stabilized. Boiling point analysis indicated [...] Read more.
Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of Tetra Pak waste was investigated at 320–440 °C for 10–50 min to produce bio-crude oil. Bio-oil yield increased with temperature and time, reaching about 43 wt% at 40–50 min, while solid residue decreased and stabilized. Boiling point analysis indicated diesel- and kerosene-range fractions as dominant components. FT-IR results showed enhanced aromatic and carbonyl groups with reaction time, suggesting secondary condensation. A modified first-order kinetic model described the conversion of carbohydrates and polyethylene, with activation energies of 25.8–49.0 and 54.9–78.3 kJ mol−1, respectively. The intermediate aqueous/gaseous pathway exhibited a lower activation energy (30.1 kJ mol−1), highlighting its vital role in oil formation. This study advances understanding of Tetra Pak liquefaction and provides guidance for efficient composite waste valorization. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermochemical Conversion of Polymer Waste)
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