Thermo-Chemical recycling of polypropylene via high-power microwave plasma gasification: Syngas and metal carbide production

Jafar Fathi; Michal Hlína; Tomáš Mates; Maksym Buryi; Vineet Singh Sikarwar; Radek Mušálek; Shelja Sharma; Michal Lojka; Adéla Jiříčková; Ondřej Jankovský; Jan Riedl; Miroslav Karlík; Petr Kratochvíl; Hana Thürlová; František Růzička; Filip Průša; Michal Jeremiáš; Alan Mašláni

doi:10.1016/j.cej.2025.161910

Thermo-Chemical recycling of polypropylene via high-power microwave plasma gasification: Syngas and metal carbide production

Jafar Fathi, Michal Hlína, Tomáš Mates, Maksym Buryi, Vineet Singh Sikarwar, Radek Mušálek, Shelja Sharma, Michal Lojka, Adéla Jiříčková, Ondřej Jankovský, Jan Riedl, Miroslav Karlík, Petr Kratochvíl, Hana Thürlová, František Růzička, Filip Průša, Michal Jeremiáš, Alan Mašláni^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

BA5206 Gasification and synthesis gas processing

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review

Abstract

Difficult waste streams such as polypropylene (PP) are a nuisance vis-a-vis its disposal and treatment on account of its non-biodegradable nature, and they pose grave risks to humans and the environment. To prevent pollution, PP should be disposed of/ treated via sustainable and eco-friendly pathways such as thermochemical technologies. The current study investigates the viability of PP polymer granules gasification using an advanced high-power 100 kW microwave plasma system, integrated with a high-temperature reactor. The experiments were conducted with varying PP feed rates, ranging from 5 to 18 kg/h, and the output gas was analyzed under different conditions. Complete conversion of PP into syngas and carbon nanomaterials was achieved. The produced carbon nanomaterials were characterized using diverse techniques including X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray energy-dispersive (EDS), among others. More importantly, the synthesized nanomaterials were explored for applications in metal carbide synthesis through mechanical alloying. The results emphatically highlight the potential of microwave plasma technology for an efficient and eco-friendly valorization of polypropylene to produce usable energy in the form of syngas and value-added products such as nanomaterials and therefore, it is within the principles of circular economy.

Original language	English
Article number	161910
Journal	Chemical Engineering Journal
Volume	511
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2025.161910
Publication status	Published - 1 May 2025
MoE publication type	A1 Journal article-refereed

Funding

This work was supported by the project "IPP – MSCA Fellowships CZ", funded as project No. CZ.02.01.01/00/22_010/0003322 by Program Johannes Amos Comenius, call MSCA – Fellowships - CZ. The authors would like to thank the Czech Science Foundation (project No. 24-10767S) for its financial support of this research. This publication was supported by the project “The Energy Conversion and Storage”, funded as project No. CZ.02.01.01/00/22_008/0004617 by Programme Johannes Amos Comenius, call Excellent Research. We would like to thank the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (project No. TN02000069 National Centre of Competence MATCA) for the financial support of this research. We acknowledge CzechNanoLab Research Infrastructure supported by MEYS CR (project No. LM2023051). V. Sikarwar gratefully acknowledges the support from the Czech Academy of Sciences (Programme to Support Prospective Human Resources; Project L100432402). J. Fathi would also like to thank the Specific University Research Grant (A2_FCHT_2024_084).

Keywords

Carbon Nanomaterial
Mechanical Alloying
Metal Carbide
Microwave Plasma
Phase Composition
Thermo-Chemical Recycling

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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Cite this

Fathi, J., Hlína, M., Mates, T., Buryi, M., Sikarwar, V. S., Mušálek, R., Sharma, S., Lojka, M., Jiříčková, A., Jankovský, O., Riedl, J., Karlík, M., Kratochvíl, P., Thürlová, H., Růzička, F., Průša, F., Jeremiáš, M., & Mašláni, A. (2025). Thermo-Chemical recycling of polypropylene via high-power microwave plasma gasification: Syngas and metal carbide production. Chemical Engineering Journal, 511, Article 161910. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2025.161910

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abstract = "Difficult waste streams such as polypropylene (PP) are a nuisance vis-a-vis its disposal and treatment on account of its non-biodegradable nature, and they pose grave risks to humans and the environment. To prevent pollution, PP should be disposed of/ treated via sustainable and eco-friendly pathways such as thermochemical technologies. The current study investigates the viability of PP polymer granules gasification using an advanced high-power 100 kW microwave plasma system, integrated with a high-temperature reactor. The experiments were conducted with varying PP feed rates, ranging from 5 to 18 kg/h, and the output gas was analyzed under different conditions. Complete conversion of PP into syngas and carbon nanomaterials was achieved. The produced carbon nanomaterials were characterized using diverse techniques including X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray energy-dispersive (EDS), among others. More importantly, the synthesized nanomaterials were explored for applications in metal carbide synthesis through mechanical alloying. The results emphatically highlight the potential of microwave plasma technology for an efficient and eco-friendly valorization of polypropylene to produce usable energy in the form of syngas and value-added products such as nanomaterials and therefore, it is within the principles of circular economy.",

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Fathi, J, Hlína, M, Mates, T, Buryi, M, Sikarwar, VS, Mušálek, R, Sharma, S, Lojka, M, Jiříčková, A, Jankovský, O, Riedl, J, Karlík, M, Kratochvíl, P, Thürlová, H, Růzička, F, Průša, F, Jeremiáš, M & Mašláni, A 2025, 'Thermo-Chemical recycling of polypropylene via high-power microwave plasma gasification: Syngas and metal carbide production', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 511, 161910. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2025.161910

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T2 - Syngas and metal carbide production

AU - Fathi, Jafar

AU - Hlína, Michal

AU - Mates, Tomáš

AU - Buryi, Maksym

AU - Sikarwar, Vineet Singh

AU - Mušálek, Radek

AU - Sharma, Shelja

AU - Lojka, Michal

AU - Jiříčková, Adéla

AU - Jankovský, Ondřej

AU - Riedl, Jan

AU - Karlík, Miroslav

AU - Kratochvíl, Petr

AU - Thürlová, Hana

AU - Růzička, František

AU - Průša, Filip

AU - Jeremiáš, Michal

AU - Mašláni, Alan

PY - 2025/5/1

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N2 - Difficult waste streams such as polypropylene (PP) are a nuisance vis-a-vis its disposal and treatment on account of its non-biodegradable nature, and they pose grave risks to humans and the environment. To prevent pollution, PP should be disposed of/ treated via sustainable and eco-friendly pathways such as thermochemical technologies. The current study investigates the viability of PP polymer granules gasification using an advanced high-power 100 kW microwave plasma system, integrated with a high-temperature reactor. The experiments were conducted with varying PP feed rates, ranging from 5 to 18 kg/h, and the output gas was analyzed under different conditions. Complete conversion of PP into syngas and carbon nanomaterials was achieved. The produced carbon nanomaterials were characterized using diverse techniques including X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray energy-dispersive (EDS), among others. More importantly, the synthesized nanomaterials were explored for applications in metal carbide synthesis through mechanical alloying. The results emphatically highlight the potential of microwave plasma technology for an efficient and eco-friendly valorization of polypropylene to produce usable energy in the form of syngas and value-added products such as nanomaterials and therefore, it is within the principles of circular economy.

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KW - Mechanical Alloying

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KW - Microwave Plasma

KW - Phase Composition

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Thermo-Chemical recycling of polypropylene via high-power microwave plasma gasification: Syngas and metal carbide production

Abstract

Funding

Keywords

UN SDGs

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