Simultaneous production of monophenol chemicals and CO2 adsorbent through salt solution-enhanced pyrolysis of electronic waste plastics

This study presented a novel method for the simultaneous generation of monophenol chemicals and carbon-based CO 2 adsorbent from polycarbonate (PC) by using salt solution-enhanced pyrolysis. The regulatory functions of several factors on the production of 4-isopropenylphenol (IPP) and phenol were investigated using a laboratory-scale pyrolysis reactor , including salt solution type (neutral, acidic, and alkaline), solution concentration, and pyrolysis temperature. The results revealed that the Na 2 CO 3 solution exhibited the best ability to enhance the preparation of IPP and phenol. At Na 2 CO 3 concentration of 1 mol/L and pyrolysis temperature of 600 °C, the optimum yields of IPP and phenol reached 28.83 wt% and 33.77 wt%, respectively. The pyrolysis char (PCSC) obtained under this condition exhibited good CO 2 adsorption behavior with a maximum adsorption capacity of 1.75 mmol/g at 30 °C because of its well-formed porous structure and copious oxygen-containing functional groups.