Citation: Guanyi Chen, Xianglin Chang, Rui Wang, Xiaoming Peng, Zhanjun Cheng, Beibei Yan, Ning Li. Optimization of Fenton-like-driven waste plastic upgrading processes: Trade-off strategies between environmental and techno-economic benefits[J]. Chinese Chemical Letters, ;2026, 37(7): 112231. doi: 10.1016/j.cclet.2025.112231 shu

Optimization of Fenton-like-driven waste plastic upgrading processes: Trade-off strategies between environmental and techno-economic benefits

Guanyi Chen ^{a, b} ,
Xianglin Chang ^a ,
Rui Wang ^a ,
Xiaoming Peng ^c ,
Zhanjun Cheng ^a ,
Beibei Yan ^a ,
Ning Li ^{a, *,}

a.
School of Environmental Science and Engineering/ Tianjin Research Center for Safe Disposal of Organic Solid Waste and Energy Utilization Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
b.
School of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University of Commerce, Tianjin 300134, China
c.
School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, East China Jiaotong University, Nanchang 330013, China

liningec@tju.edu.cn

Received Date: 27 July 2025
Revised Date: 11 October 2025
Accepted Date: 7 December 2025
Available Online: 8 December 2025

Figures(4)

Current environmental and ecological risks associated with plastics are escalating. Cutting-edge research has focused on recycling waste plastics into monomers or energy resources. Fenton-like catalysis exhibits potential for technological development in this field. This study evaluates global warming potential (GWP), non-renewable energy use (NREU), and minimum selling price (MSP) during fuel recovery from waste plastics using Fenton-like processes. Adjusting operational strategies could enhance environmental sustainability and economic viability. Process parameters were optimized through controlled manipulation of catalyst pyrolysis temperature, catalyst concentration, hydrothermal temperature, and peroxymonosulfate (PMS) dosage. The optimization balanced environmental impact and economic returns in plastic recycling. Catalyst expenditure and PMS consumption emerged as primary barriers to sustainable and cost-efficient operations in homogeneous catalysis systems. When the superior-performance heterogeneous catalyst was used, Fenton-like process achieved 78% reduction in GWP, 99% decrease in NREU, and 63% MSP reduction for polypropylene (PP) recycling compared to homogeneous systems. With heterogeneous catalysis, polylactic acid (PLA) conversion demonstrates 29 times greater in terms of energy recovery efficiency for compared to PP processing. Sensitivity analysis revealed a variability of 8%-20% in outcomes due to oxidant loss. And the cost advantage for European operations compared to China was identified. The results underscored the importance of regional energy structures and process control for large-scale application. The system assessment framework has established quantifiable technical operation standards with the goal of environmental-economic benefits for implementing Fenton-like systems in plastic waste management. The results contribute directly to advancing circular economy principles and carbon reduction technologies.
- Fenton-like,
- Waste plastic,
- Upgrading,
- Life cycle assessment,
- Techno-economic analysis
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