The accumulation of plastic waste has created an urgent need for more sustainable recycling methods. With plastic waste projected to exceed 700 million tons by 2030, remediation techniques such as pyrolysis, which converts waste into renewable energy, are becoming increasingly important. Zeolites provide a viable option to enhance the large-scale feasibility of pyrolysis, as their acidic properties, stemming from the Brønsted/Lewis acid sites within these aluminosilicates, can accelerate polymer breakdown and reduce the thermal energy required for polymer pyrolysis. Several factors of zeolites can influence acidity by affecting the accessibility of reactants to the acid sites within the zeolite. These factors include pore size, protonation state, silicon to aluminum (Si/Al) ratio, and crystal size. This study aims to explore how these zeolite factors influence the dynamics of catalytic pyrolysis, specifically through the reduction of the polymer degradation temperature (Td).

Preliminary experiments in this study focused on the effect of protonation by comparing the Na+ and H+ forms of Zeolite Y during the thermal degradation of polyethylene (PE). The zeolite was incorporated with PE through dissolution, and the composite was evaluated using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The TGA results confirmed the zeolites' profound effect on the polymer's thermal degradation, with Na-Y and H-Y zeolites shifting the T d from 491 °C to 353 °C and 378 °C, respectively. As various zeolite characteristics may influence these results, ongoing experiments aim to investigate different pore architectures and crystal sizes to explore their impact on the thermal behavior of polymers.