催化学报 ›› 2026, Vol. 91: 1-49.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(26)65230-8

• 综述 •    下一篇

塑料废弃物催化升级转化技术研究进展

万杨a, 邹报a, 宋相海a, 刘燕a,*(), 罗建民b, 刘鑫a, 李鑫c,*(), 霍鹏伟a,*()   

  1. a 江苏大学化学化工学院, 绿色化学与化工技术研究院, 江苏镇江 212013
    b 韶关学院, 化学与土木工程学院, 广东韶关 512005
    c 华南农业大学材料与化学工程学院, 教育部生物基材料与能源重点实验室, 广东广州 510642
  • 收稿日期:2026-04-25 接受日期:2026-06-22 出版日期:2026-12-18 发布日期:2026-10-13
  • 通讯作者: *电子信箱: huopw@ujs.edu.cn (霍鹏伟),
    xinli@scau.edu.cn (李鑫),
    lyan@ujs.edu.cn (刘燕).
  • 基金资助:
    国家自然科学基金(22578189);江苏省凹土资源利用重点实验室(HPK202401)

Recent advances in catalytic conversion technologies for plastic waste upgrading

Yang Wana, Bao Zoua, Xianghai Songa, Yan Liua,*(), Jianmin Luob, Xin Liua, Xin Lic,*(), Pengwei Huoa,*()   

  1. a Institute of Green Chemistry and Chemical Technology, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, Jiangsu, China
    b School of Chemistry and Civil Engineering, Shaoguan University, Shaoguan 512005, Guangdong, China
    c Key Laboratory for Biobased Materials and Energy of Ministry of Education, College of Materials and Chemical Engineering, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, Guangdong, China
  • Received:2026-04-25 Accepted:2026-06-22 Online:2026-12-18 Published:2026-10-13
  • About author:Yan Liu received her B.A. degree from Nanjing Normal University in 2003, and Ph.D degree from Jiangsu University in 2011. From 2018-2019, she worked as a visiting scholar at the University of California, Irvine (USA). Her research interests currently focus on design of functional materials and their applications in engineering and catalysis. She has published more than 60 peer-reviewed papers.
    Xin Li received his BS and PhD degrees in chemical engineering from Zhengzhou University in 2002 and South China University of Technology in 2007, respectively. Then, he joined the South China Agricultural University as a faculty staff member, and became a professor in 2017. During 2012 and 2019, he worked as a visiting scholar at the Electrochemistry Center, the University of Texas at Austin, and the Department of Chemistry, University of Utah, respectively. His research interests include photocatalysis, photoelectrochemistry, adsorption, biomass engineering and the development of related materials and devices.
    Pengwei Huo received his Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Engineering from Jiangsu University. He joined the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Jiangsu University as a lecturer in 2011, was promoted to associate professor in 2014. Between 2015 and 2016, he served as a postdoctoral researcher at VSB-Technical University of Ostrava in the Czech Republic. Since 2019, he has held the position of professor and doctoral supervisor at Jiangsu University. His research interests include environmental catalysis, the design and applications of functional materials, and the resource utilization of waste plastics.
    First author contact:

    Yang Wan: Writing - review & editing, Writing - original draft, Data curation, Conceptualization; Bao Zou, Xianghai Song, and Xin Liu: Data curation, Software, Formal analysis; Jianmin Luo: Project administration, Validation, Supervision; Yan Liu, and Xin Li: Project administration, Methodology, Review & editing; Pengwei Huo: Project administration, Methodology, Investigation, Funding acquisition.

  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China(22578189);the Key Laboratory for Palygorskite Science and Applied Technology of Jiangsu(HPK202401)

摘要:

塑料制品因具备轻便耐用、成本低廉等特性, 其全球年产量已高达数亿吨. 然而, 大量塑料制品在短暂使用后便被丢弃, 其在自然环境中极难降解, 既加剧了“白色污染”对土壤、水体与生态系统的长期损害, 也导致了大量碳氢资源的浪费、流失. 面对资源与环境的双重压力, 循环经济理念与“双碳”目标的兴起, 指引塑料废弃物的处理方式从末端处理转向资源化高值利用. 近些年来, 催化转化技术成为破解塑料污染—资源化利用矛盾的关键方法, 包含但不限于光催化、热催化、电催化及生物催化等方式. 催化转化技术的应用, 不仅能直接有效地减少环境污染, 还可以以废弃资源为原料生产高价值化学品、燃料等, 有效缓解世界能源短缺问题.
本文系统地介绍了催化转化技术在塑料废弃物处理中的最新进展. 首先介绍了塑料升级转化的两条路径(即直接路径与间接路径)以及塑料升级转化领域存在的重难点. 其中, 直接路径指通过催化裂解、水解或氧化等方式, 将塑料大分子一步转化为单体、小分子化学品或燃料; 间接路径则是指将塑料先转化为平台小分子, 再经二次反应(如氧化、氢化、胺化等)制备高附加值产物. 其次, 针对光催化、热催化、电催化及生物催化等不同催化方式, 概括性地介绍了各自的作用机理, 并重点归纳了催化剂的设计策略, 涵盖异质结工程、缺陷工程、贵金属助催化剂体系、元素掺杂工程及微生物基因编辑改造手段等前沿手段, 同时对各催化方法的优势与局限性进行了对比分析. 在此基础上, 本文按产物类型与转化机制不同, 系统梳理了各类催化技术的最新研究进展, 产物体系覆盖C1气体、有机酸、醇类、芳烃、燃料及功能碳材料等多种高价值产品. 值得关注的是, 光热协同、光电协同及生物-化学级联等复合催化体系展现出显著的“1+1>2”协同增效作用, 在降低反应能耗、提升目标产物选择性以及处理复杂混合塑料方面优势突出, 为废塑料的高效资源化提供了新的技术方向. 最后, 对未来催化转化废塑料的重点研究方向与潜在方法进行了前瞻性展望, 提出应着力于开发低成本、抗中毒、长寿命的新型催化剂及高效反应器, 结合原位表征与理论计算深入研究反应机理与路径, 建立多催化方式协同的绿色低能耗反应体系, 推动塑料与其他废弃物(如生物质、CO2、硝酸盐等)的协同转化, 并通过生命周期评价与技术经济分析评估技术的环境效益与经济可行性.
综上, 本文系统梳理了多种催化技术在塑料升级中的反应机制、催化剂设计与产物选择性规律, 对比了多种催化技术的应用进展与现存挑战. 未来应聚焦低成本抗中毒催化剂、多场耦合体系、原位机理与生命周期评估, 加速工业化, 助力循环经济与碳中和目标.

关键词: 塑料废弃物, 升级转化, 催化转化路径, 催化机理, 资源利用

Abstract:

The rapid growth in plastic consumption and improper disposal have exacerbated plastic pollution (“white pollution”) and resulted in a significant waste of hydrocarbon resources. Based on the concepts of circular economy and “carbon peaking, carbon neutrality”, the upgrading and transformation of plastic waste is receiving increasing attention. In recent years, catalytic conversion technology has become a key method to solve the contradiction between plastic pollution and resource utilization, including but not limited to photocatalysis, thermocatalysis, electrocatalysis, and biocatalysis. It can not only directly and effectively reduce environmental pollution, but also produce high-value chemicals, fuels from waste resources, thereby alleviating the global energy shortage. Based on this, this review systematically elucidates the direct and indirect pathways for plastic upcycling, and provides an in-depth comparison of the reaction mechanisms, catalyst design strategies, and selective activation rules of chemical bonds across different catalytic approaches. For the first time, it systematically integrates the latest research progress on photocatalytic, thermocatalytic, electrocatalytic, biocatalytic, and synergistic catalytic technologies for the upgrading conversion of typical plastics, clarifies the application scenarios and key bottlenecks of various catalytic methods, reveals the relationship between catalyst microstructure and selective bond cleavage, and proposes important directions for the future design of catalytic systems. This review aims to provide a theoretical framework for the resource-oriented conversion of waste plastics, thereby advancing the development of a green circular economy and supporting sustainable development goals.

Key words: Plastic waste, Upgraded recycling, Catalytic conversion routes, Catalytic mechanism, Resource utilization