Polymer Pyrolysis for Resource Recovery

Pyrolysis is a promising thermochemical conversion technique to recover valuable building blocks and chemicals from waste polymers. After outlining the need for recycling and comparing the various strategies for recycling polymer wastes, this article evaluates noncatalytic and catalytic pyrolysis of a number of common polymers by giving due emphasis to pyrolysis products and product formation pathways. Free radical, concerted, and acid-catalyzed mechanisms involved in noncatalytic and catalytic pyrolysis of vinyl polymers are discussed. The different types of analytic pyrolyzers and their applications are outlined. Polymer pyrolysis via microwave-assisted heating is evaluated for tuning of product yields and selectivities.