Scientists convert waste plastics into high-value carbon materials

Researchers from Shenyang Agricultural University, the Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion (Chinese Academy of Sciences), and South China University of Technology have demonstrated that waste plastics can be transformed into high-value carbon materials such as graphene, carbon nanotubes, porous carbon, and carbon quantum dots, offering a potential pathway to reduce global plastic pollution while supplying materials for energy and environmental technologies.

Published in Sustainable Carbon Materials, the study titled Functional carbon materials from waste plastics: synthesis and applications reviews both established and emerging carbon-conversion technologies capable of recovering carbon from discarded polymers. Each year, over 390 million tons of plastics are produced globally, with a substantial portion disposed of through landfilling, incineration, or poorly managed recycling, all of which contribute to secondary pollution.

Lead author Dr. Gaixiu Yang explains that advanced carbonization approaches can convert plastics into usable carbon frameworks, effectively turning waste into resource. Among these, catalytic pyrolysis, one-pot synthesis, and flash Joule heating are highlighted for their efficiency. In particular, flash Joule heating can transform plastics into high-quality graphene in milliseconds while consuming less than 0.1 kWh per kilogram, significantly lower than conventional manufacturing energy demands.

The resulting carbon products exhibit functional and structural properties suitable for environmental remediation and clean-energy systems. According to the report, porous carbons derived from plastic waste can adsorb CO₂, remove heavy metals and antibiotics from water, and serve as electrodes for lithium-ion batteries and supercapacitors. In one demonstration, plastic-derived porous carbon achieved near-theoretical energy-storage capacities in selenium-based batteries while maintaining high cycling stability.

Despite these advances, the researchers identify several ongoing challenges. These include improving catalyst selectivity, enhancing control over microstructure and yield, and developing scalable industrial processes. Addressing these issues requires interdisciplinary integration across materials science, catalysis, and environmental engineering to achieve both high performance and environmental compliance.

Co-author Professor Yan Chen emphasized that this line of research supports the development of a circular carbon economy, in which discarded plastics serve as feedstock for next-generation materials and energy technologies. By closing the loop between waste generation and renewable-resource production, such innovations could significantly reduce the carbon and waste footprints of industrial systems.

The study provides an optimistic outlook for global sustainability: technologies capable of converting pollution into high-value functional materials could realign industrial waste management with clean-energy goals.