Enhancing carbon nanotubes production from pyrolysis–catalysis of plastic waste through monolithic heating

Ruming Pan; Jie Yu; Youwei Yang; Ilman Nuran Zaini; Xibo He; Muhammad Rafique; Yibo Wu; Kuandong Jiang; Leilei Dai; Yi Fang; Youchuang Chao; Yuming Wen; Yanming Guo; Gérald Debenest; Weihong Yang; Wangliang Li; Yaning Zhang; Yong Shuai

doi:10.1093/nsr/nwag143

Enhancing carbon nanotubes production from pyrolysis–catalysis of plastic waste through monolithic heating

Ruming Pan^*
, Jie Yu
, Youwei Yang
, Ilman Nuran Zaini
, Xibo He
, Muhammad Rafique
, Yibo Wu
, Kuandong Jiang
, Leilei Dai
, Yi Fang
, Youchuang Chao
, Yuming Wen
, Yanming Guo
, Gérald Debenest
, Weihong Yang
, Wangliang Li
, Yaning Zhang^*
, Yong Shuai^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

School of Energy Science and Engineering

School of Energy Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology
Bandung Institute of Technology
Toulouse University, UPS-OMP, IRAP
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
CAS - Institute of Process Engineering
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore
National University of Singapore
KTH Royal Institute of Technology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this study, we developed a novel monolithic heating method by utilizing electromagnetic induction to enhance carbon nanotube (CNT) production from plastic waste via pyrolysis–catalysis. Metal porous catalysts, including iron (Fe), nickel (Ni) and Fe–Ni alloy, enabled rapid volumetric heating, improved catalytic efficiency and reduced energy consumption compared with conventional methods. The porous Fe catalyst demonstrated superior CNT yield, while Ni provided the highest hydrogen (H₂) production. We achieved carbon-recovery efficiencies of 86%, 84% and 82% for low-density polyethylene, high-density polyethylene and polypropylene, respectively, by using the Fe catalyst. Our economic analysis indicated that CNT production from waste polyethylene and waste polypropylene is feasible, with break-even selling prices of $4.02 and $4.87 kg⁻¹, respectively. Our work supports the development of a circular economy by enabling the efficient conversion of plastic waste into valuable CNTs and H₂ via pyrolysis–catalysis.

Original language	English
Article number	nwag143
Journal	National Science Review
Volume	13
Issue number	10
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwag143
State	Published - May 2026

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy
SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth
SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production

Keywords

carbon nanotubes
monolithic heating
plastic waste
porous catalysts
pyrolysis–catalysis

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10.1093/nsr/nwag143

Cite this

Pan, R., Yu, J., Yang, Y., Zaini, I. N., He, X., Rafique, M., Wu, Y., Jiang, K., Dai, L., Fang, Y., Chao, Y., Wen, Y., Guo, Y., Debenest, G., Yang, W., Li, W., Zhang, Y., & Shuai, Y. (2026). Enhancing carbon nanotubes production from pyrolysis–catalysis of plastic waste through monolithic heating. National Science Review, 13(10), Article nwag143. https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwag143

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title = "Enhancing carbon nanotubes production from pyrolysis{\textendash}catalysis of plastic waste through monolithic heating",

abstract = "In this study, we developed a novel monolithic heating method by utilizing electromagnetic induction to enhance carbon nanotube (CNT) production from plastic waste via pyrolysis{\textendash}catalysis. Metal porous catalysts, including iron (Fe), nickel (Ni) and Fe{\textendash}Ni alloy, enabled rapid volumetric heating, improved catalytic efficiency and reduced energy consumption compared with conventional methods. The porous Fe catalyst demonstrated superior CNT yield, while Ni provided the highest hydrogen (H2) production. We achieved carbon-recovery efficiencies of 86\%, 84\% and 82\% for low-density polyethylene, high-density polyethylene and polypropylene, respectively, by using the Fe catalyst. Our economic analysis indicated that CNT production from waste polyethylene and waste polypropylene is feasible, with break-even selling prices of \$4.02 and \$4.87 kg−1, respectively. Our work supports the development of a circular economy by enabling the efficient conversion of plastic waste into valuable CNTs and H2 via pyrolysis{\textendash}catalysis.",

keywords = "carbon nanotubes, monolithic heating, plastic waste, porous catalysts, pyrolysis{\textendash}catalysis",

author = "Ruming Pan and Jie Yu and Youwei Yang and Zaini, \{Ilman Nuran\} and Xibo He and Muhammad Rafique and Yibo Wu and Kuandong Jiang and Leilei Dai and Yi Fang and Youchuang Chao and Yuming Wen and Yanming Guo and G{\'e}rald Debenest and Weihong Yang and Wangliang Li and Yaning Zhang and Yong Shuai",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2026. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of China Science Publishing \& Media Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.",

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AU - Pan, Ruming

AU - Yu, Jie

AU - Yang, Youwei

AU - Zaini, Ilman Nuran

AU - He, Xibo

AU - Rafique, Muhammad

AU - Wu, Yibo

AU - Jiang, Kuandong

AU - Dai, Leilei

AU - Fang, Yi

AU - Chao, Youchuang

AU - Wen, Yuming

AU - Guo, Yanming

AU - Debenest, Gérald

AU - Yang, Weihong

AU - Li, Wangliang

AU - Zhang, Yaning

AU - Shuai, Yong

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2026. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of China Science Publishing & Media Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

PY - 2026/5

Y1 - 2026/5

N2 - In this study, we developed a novel monolithic heating method by utilizing electromagnetic induction to enhance carbon nanotube (CNT) production from plastic waste via pyrolysis–catalysis. Metal porous catalysts, including iron (Fe), nickel (Ni) and Fe–Ni alloy, enabled rapid volumetric heating, improved catalytic efficiency and reduced energy consumption compared with conventional methods. The porous Fe catalyst demonstrated superior CNT yield, while Ni provided the highest hydrogen (H2) production. We achieved carbon-recovery efficiencies of 86%, 84% and 82% for low-density polyethylene, high-density polyethylene and polypropylene, respectively, by using the Fe catalyst. Our economic analysis indicated that CNT production from waste polyethylene and waste polypropylene is feasible, with break-even selling prices of $4.02 and $4.87 kg−1, respectively. Our work supports the development of a circular economy by enabling the efficient conversion of plastic waste into valuable CNTs and H2 via pyrolysis–catalysis.

AB - In this study, we developed a novel monolithic heating method by utilizing electromagnetic induction to enhance carbon nanotube (CNT) production from plastic waste via pyrolysis–catalysis. Metal porous catalysts, including iron (Fe), nickel (Ni) and Fe–Ni alloy, enabled rapid volumetric heating, improved catalytic efficiency and reduced energy consumption compared with conventional methods. The porous Fe catalyst demonstrated superior CNT yield, while Ni provided the highest hydrogen (H2) production. We achieved carbon-recovery efficiencies of 86%, 84% and 82% for low-density polyethylene, high-density polyethylene and polypropylene, respectively, by using the Fe catalyst. Our economic analysis indicated that CNT production from waste polyethylene and waste polypropylene is feasible, with break-even selling prices of $4.02 and $4.87 kg−1, respectively. Our work supports the development of a circular economy by enabling the efficient conversion of plastic waste into valuable CNTs and H2 via pyrolysis–catalysis.

KW - carbon nanotubes

KW - monolithic heating

KW - plastic waste

KW - porous catalysts

KW - pyrolysis–catalysis

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DO - 10.1093/nsr/nwag143

M3 - 文章

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SN - 2095-5138

VL - 13

JO - National Science Review

JF - National Science Review

IS - 10

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ER -

Enhancing carbon nanotubes production from pyrolysis–catalysis of plastic waste through monolithic heating

Abstract

UN SDGs

Keywords

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