Article
Engineering, Environmental
Yan Li, Shuang Zheng, Shenghuai Hou, Tiantian Chen, Yuxuan Bai, Manlin Zhang, Dandan Zhou, Shu Yang, Hui Xu, Ganbing Zhang
Summary: Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) derived materials have attracted attention for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP). However, the recovery of powder catalysts and low utilization of active sites pose challenges. In this study, a Cu2O/Cu/PDA/CF catalyst was developed for the rapid reduction of 4-NP. The catalyst showed enhanced catalytic performance and ultrafast degradation of 4-NP.
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Katsuhide Murata, Yusaku Sakata, Mihai Brebu
Summary: The presence of porous silicalite during the thermal degradation of polyethylene influences the behavior of polymer macromolecules, favoring chain-end scissions and leading to an increase in the rate of double bonds formation without significantly affecting the mass rate of pyrolysis.
JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL AND APPLIED PYROLYSIS
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Rebecca E. Harmon, Gorugantu SriBala, Linda J. Broadbelt, Alan K. Burnham
Summary: A comparison of pyrolysis models for polyethylene and polypropylene suggests that mechanistic modeling could be a valuable complement to understand additional effects in polymer decomposition.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Amira Farzana Samat, Dee Carter, Ali Abbas
Summary: This study focuses on the degradation of polypropylene (PP) using Aspergillus terreus ATCC 20542 and Engyodontium album BRIP 61534a, with emphasis on pre-treatment. UV and heat-treated metallised film (MFPP) demonstrated significant weight loss when incubated with A. terreus. Biomass production, reduction rate, FTIR, and SEM analyses support the degradation rate. The results indicate that PP can be utilized as a carbon source by A. terreus and E. album with the aid of pre-treatment, promoting biological pathways for plastic waste treatment.
NPJ MATERIALS DEGRADATION
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Xiangyue Wei, Qiang Zhang, Chengfeng Shen, Xu Zhao, Fan Zhang, Xuehui Liu, Gang Wu, Shimei Xu, Yu-Zhong Wang
Summary: Polypropylene waste is transformed into terminal functionalized long-chain chemicals using anionic surfactants. The reaction involves exothermic oxidative cracking and endothermic thermal cracking, requiring only 5 minutes heating at 80°C. This research offers a new approach to convert plastic waste into high-value-added chemicals rapidly and under mild conditions.
MATERIALS HORIZONS
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Ceramics
Xin Xu, Mengxing Zhang, Pan Jiang, Desheng Liu, Yixian Wang, Xing Xu, Zhongying Ji, Xin Jia, Haizhong Wang, Xiaolong Wang
Summary: The continuous flow reactor constructed using 3D printing technology provides stability, reusability, and designability for catalytic reactions. Utilizing polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) microspheres to create internal micro/nanometer porous structures offers abundant active sites for anchoring.
CERAMICS INTERNATIONAL
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
A. I. Eldahshory, Karim Emara, M. S. Abd-Elhady, M. A. Ismail
Summary: The objective of this research is to produce oil from waste polypropylene (WPP) using low-cost natural catalysts. Three natural catalysts (Kaolin, Hematite, and white sand) were examined, and different catalyst-to-plastic ratios were tested. The results showed that Kaolin had the highest oil yield and the lowest cost of production. The use of Kaolin as a catalyst also improved the quality and quantity of the produced oil compared to the other catalysts and the non-catalytic case.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Sher Ahmad, Wassim Sebai, Marie-Pierre Belleville, Nicolas Brun, Anne Galarneau, Jose Sanchez-Marcano
Summary: In this study, laccase was immobilized in highly porous silica monoliths and used for the degradation of tetracycline. The effects of different factors on the degradation efficiency were investigated through experiments and simulations, and the optimal conditions were determined.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Xin Xu, Desheng Liu, Zhongying Ji, Yixian Wang, Pan Jiang, Jiayu Wu, Fang Dong, Haiyuan Hu, Zhicheng Tang, Xiaolong Wang
Summary: Inspired by the structure of Saccharum officinarum cellulose frameworks, a naturally hierarchical structured continuous flow catalytic reactor (ZIF-67 @SCF CFR) was constructed for efficient and persistent reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol. The reactor exhibited high catalytic efficiency and stability, and showed recyclability after freeze-drying and self-assembly processing.
MATERIALS TODAY COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Zhen Xu, Nuwayo Eric Munyaneza, Qikun Zhang, Mengqi Sun, Carlos Posada, Paul Venturo, Nicholas A. Rorrer, Joel Miscall, Bobby G. Sumpter, Guoliang Liu
Summary: Conversion of plastic wastes to fatty acids is an attractive and economically viable method for supplementing the sourcing of high-value chemicals. Our method achieves a conversion rate of up to 80% and produces fatty acids with high molar masses. The process can be applied to municipal PE and PP wastes, and the resulting fatty acids can be further converted into high-value surfactants without the need for subsidies.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Zheng Zhong, Wenyan Nong, Yichun Xie, Jerome Ho Lam Hui, Lee Man Chu
Summary: The research demonstrates the capability of mealworms to degrade some plastics through ingestion and digestion facilitated by gut bacteria. Plastic consumption is negatively correlated with plastic crystallinity. Mealworms act as downstream decomposers in plastic depolymerization by producing extracellular depolymerases for plastic degradation.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Mehnaz Shams, Iftaykhairul Alam, Indranil Chowdhury
Summary: The interactions of nanoscale plastics with natural organic matter (NOM) and silica surfaces were investigated using a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D). The study found that polyethylene and polystyrene nanoscale plastics showed higher deposition on NOM-coated surfaces compared to silica surfaces, and the deposition increased with increased ionic strength. Overall, nanoscale plastics' fate and mobility in the environment will be significantly influenced by their interactions with NOM.
Article
Polymer Science
Hanging Jiang, Shengda Wang, Yanhui Wang, Yaxian Wang, Liang Li, Li Ma, Dongmei Cui, Tao Tang
Summary: A new strategy has been established to access long-subchain hyper-branched polypropylene (LHB-PP) with well controlled molecular weight and topologic microstructure. Compared to linear polypropylene, the newly obtained LHB-PP solution has lower intrinsic viscosity and smaller hydrodynamic radius, while the melt exhibits higher zero shear viscosity and more apparent shear-thinning phenomenon, indicating improved properties.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Zihan Xue, Xiang Yu, Xuebin Ke, Jian Zhao
Summary: In this study, a visible-light-driven photocatalysis and photothermal Fenton-like reaction method for the removal of microplastics is developed by utilizing alpha-Fe2O3 nanoflower on TiO2 with a hierarchical structure of inverse opal-like layer/nanotube arrays. The results show that the light initiation and photothermal effect are essential for achieving high degradation efficiency of plastics, and a distinctive melting phenomenon of plastics under mild conditions is observed for the first time. The catalyst system also demonstrates good performance in degrading plastic spheres and foam of different particle sizes. This work provides a novel strategy and insights for removing microplastics and bulk plastics.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE-NANO
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Applied
Valeria Finelli, Valentina Gentilin, Giulia Mossotti, Gabriele Ricchiardi, Alessandro Piovano, Valentina Crocella, Elena Groppo
Summary: Plastics are widely used materials in our everyday life, especially polyolefins which account for a significant portion of global plastic production. However, the disposal of these materials after use is a major issue. Among chemical recycling techniques, catalytic pyrolysis has been extensively studied for the production of gaseous or liquid compounds. This study focuses on the synthesis of mesoporous silica-based materials and their catalytic pyrolysis of linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE). The presence of Bronsted acid sites is found to be crucial for good activity, but the role of Lewis acid sites and the control of their strength is also important.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Dan Rosu, Liliana Rosu, Mihai Brebu
JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL AND APPLIED PYROLYSIS
(2011)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Mihai Brebu, Iuliana Spiridon
JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL AND APPLIED PYROLYSIS
(2011)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Zs. Czegeny, E. Jakab, M. Blazso, T. Bhaskar, Y. Sakata
JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL AND APPLIED PYROLYSIS
(2012)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Sermin Onenc, Mihai Brebu, Cornelia Vasile, Jale Yanik
JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL AND APPLIED PYROLYSIS
(2012)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Thallada Bhaskar, Nona Merry M. Mitan, Jude A. Onwudili, Akinori Muto, Paul T. Williams, Yusaku Sakata
JOURNAL OF MATERIAL CYCLES AND WASTE MANAGEMENT
(2010)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Guido Grause, Alfons Buekens, Yusaku Sakata, Akitsugu Okuwaki, Toshiaki Yoshioka
JOURNAL OF MATERIAL CYCLES AND WASTE MANAGEMENT
(2011)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Maria-Cristina Popescu, Carmen-Mihaela Popescu, Gabriela Lisa, Yusaku Sakata
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR STRUCTURE
(2011)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Cristina Lungu Apetrei, Adrian Spac, Mihai Brebu, Cristina Tuchilus, Anca Miron
JOURNAL OF THE SERBIAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
(2013)
Article
Polymer Science
Mihai Brebu, Iuliana Spiridon
POLYMER DEGRADATION AND STABILITY
(2012)
Article
Polymer Science
Bogdanel Silvestru Munteanu, Mihai Brebu, Cornelia Vasile
POLYMER DEGRADATION AND STABILITY
(2013)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ana Mihaela Saviuc-Paval, Ion Sandu, Ionel Marcel Popa, Andrei Victor Sandu, Mihai Brebu, Ioan Gabriel Sandu
Article
Materials Science, Paper & Wood
Mihai Brebu, Georgeta Cazacu, Oana Chirila
CELLULOSE CHEMISTRY AND TECHNOLOGY
(2011)
Article
Materials Science, Paper & Wood
Cornelia Vasile, Carmen-Mihaela Popescu, Maria-Cristina Popescu, Mihai Brebu, Stefan Willfor
CELLULOSE CHEMISTRY AND TECHNOLOGY
(2011)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Guanshuai Zhang, Shanjian Liu, Dongmei Bi, Zhisen He, Jia Liu, Yinjiao Liu
Summary: Hydrogen peroxide pretreatment was applied for fast pyrolysis of corn stalks, and it was found that the pretreatment effectively promoted lignin depolymerization and decreased the reaction activation energy. The pretreatment also increased the cellulose content and removed alkali and alkaline earth metals from the biomass. The pH of the hydrogen peroxide solution affected the removal of lignin and ash by the pretreatment, and the composition of bio-oil changed significantly, with a significant increase in the relative content of levoglucosan after pretreatment.
JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL AND APPLIED PYROLYSIS
(2024)