World's first method turns plastic into fuel with 95% efficiency

A collaborative team of scientists from the US and China has developed the world’s first one-step method to convert mixed plastic waste into petrol with over 95% efficiency at room temperature and ambient pressure. This low-energy process simultaneously produces gasoline-range hydrocarbons, chemical raw materials, and hydrochloric acid, enabling a circular economy approach by turning diverse plastic waste into valuable products in a single step. The method uses light isoalkanes, refinery byproducts, to break down plastics, yielding hydrocarbons primarily composed of six to twelve carbon atoms, the main constituents of gasoline. The hydrochloric acid byproduct can be safely neutralized and reused, potentially replacing several energy-intensive industrial production routes. A significant innovation of this method is its ability to handle polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a challenging plastic due to its chlorine content, which traditionally requires separate, high-temperature dechlorination steps to avoid toxic emissions. The new process integrates dechlorination with fuel production, converting PVC into chlorine-free fuel hydrocarbons and hydrochloric