Articles & Issues
- Language
- English
- Conflict of Interest
- In relation to this article, we declare that there is no conflict of interest.
- Publication history
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Received September 30, 2024
Accepted January 15, 2025
Available online November 25, 2025
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This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync/3.0) which permits
unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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Effects of Pretreatment Conditions and Branched Alkanes on Mo/MCM‑41 Catalysts in Tandem Alkane Cross‑metathesis for Non‑hydrogen Polyolefin Recycling
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11814-025-00396-2
Abstract
Chemical plastic recycling has emerged as a crucial approach for advancing carbon neutrality by mitigating CO2
emissions
linked to further fossil fuel extraction. However, with most hydrogen currently sourced from fossil fuels, there is growing
interest in non-hydrogen chemical recycling pathways. This study explores the degradation of heavy hydrocarbons through
tandem alkane cross-metathesis (TACM), employing MoOx/
MCM-41 as the olefin metathesis catalyst, which demonstrates
high reactivity and stability. Despite these advantages, we observed that Mo migration during pretreatment leads to catalytic
deactivation in the tandem system, presenting a significant challenge. To counter this, we developed a two-step pretreatment
protocol that effectively mitigates Mo migration across different supports, thus enhancing overall catalyst performance. In
addition, we discovered that the presence of branched products adversely impacts the TACM system, contrasting with their
promotional behavior in traditional olefin metathesis processes. The MoOx/
MCM-41 + Pt/Al2O3 catalyst system, operating
at 250–300 °C, efficiently reduced the molecular weight of polyethylene, highlighting its potential for non-hydrogen chemical
recycling applications.
