Polyethylene plastics, including the ubiquitous plastic bags that mar the environment, pose a

notorious challenge for recycling. Their durability and resistance to breaking down make them
unsuitable for traditional recycling methods. If they are recycled at all, they are usually melted
down into a mixture used for low-value applications such as decking material.

Nonetheless, a novel approach pioneered by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley

and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory offers the potential to revolutionize this situation.
The technique employs catalysts to disassemble long polyethylene (PE) chains into uniform
fragments - three-carbon propylene molecules that serve as the building blocks for more valuable
plastics like polypropylene.

While still in its early developmental stages, this process could transform discarded products, not
only plastic bags and packaging but also various polyethylene containers, into a valuable
commodity with high demand. Unlike previous methods that involved high temperatures and
produced less desirable mixtures, this new method could not only reduce reliance on fossil fuels
for propylene production but also address the plastics industry's current shortage of propylene.

According to John Hartwig, the Henry Rapoport Chair in Organic Chemistry at the University of
California, Berkeley, "Instead of simply downgrading polyethylene plastics to lower-quality
materials through recycling, this process breaks them into monomers, fragments them into
smaller units, and then reassembles them into new products, such as polypropylene. This
approach taps into carbon sources in plastic waste to generate other valuable materials, lessening
the demand for shale gas and addressing the propylene deficit."

Polyethylene plastics constitute a significant portion of the global plastics market, with over 100
million tons produced annually from fossil fuels, including shale gas obtained through fracking.

Despite recycling efforts, denoted by resin identification codes 2 and 4, only about 14% of
polyethylene products are recycled. Due to their inherent stability, polyethylene polymers are
difficult to disassemble into their individual components, making traditional recycling methods
less effective. Consequently, most recycling involves melting and reshaping these plastics into
alternative products or incinerating them for energy generation.

Depolymerizing polyethylene to produce propylene offers a way to recycle by converting

worthless waste into valuable goods, while simultaneously decreasing the consumption of fossil
fuels.

The new catalytic process, developed by Hartwig and his team, utilizes two types of catalysts to
achieve this transformation. By breaking carbon-hydrogen bonds in polyethylene, a reactive
carbon-carbon double bond is created, which becomes a focal point for further reactions. This
innovative approach results in the breakdown of polyethylene chains into propylene molecules,
enabling up to 80% conversion of polyethylene to propylene.

Although the process is currently conducted using soluble catalysts in liquid solutions, the
researchers are exploring the use of solid catalysts for improved reusability.

The researchers successfully demonstrated the method's effectiveness across various

polyethylene plastics, converting them into propylene. Even colored additives were the only
components requiring removal.
In conjunction with another innovative technique developed by Hartwig's lab that converts
plastic bags into adhesive, these advancements hold the potential to significantly reduce the
accumulation of plastic waste in landfills, waterways, and oceans.

Hartwig acknowledges that both processes remain distant from commercial implementation but
envisions a future where these methods transform vast amounts of plastic waste into a valuable
chemical resource, provided further development and refinement occur.

Additional authors of the research paper include Jake Shi, Nicodemo Ciccia, Liang Qi, Brandon
Bloomer, Steffen Heuvel, Tyler Wills, Alexis Bell (professor of chemical and biomolecular
engineering at the University of California, Berkeley), Ji Yang, and research associate Ji Su at
Berkeley Lab. The findings of this breakthrough will be detailed in an upcoming issue of the
journal Science.