Application of computational approach in plastic pyrolysis kinetic modelling: a review

During the past decade, pyrolysis routes have been identified as one of the most promising solutions for plastic waste management. However, the industrial adoption of such technologies has been limited and several unresolved blind spots hamper the commercial application of pyrolysis. Despite many years and efforts to explain pyrolysis models based on global kinetic approaches, recent advances in computational modelling such as machine learning and quantum mechanics offer new insights. For example, the kinetic and mechanistic information about plastic pyrolysis reactions necessary for scaling up processes is unravelling. This selective literature review reveals some of the foundational knowledge and accurate views on the reaction pathways, product yields, and other features of pyrolysis created by these new tools. Pyrolysis routes mapped by machine learning and quantum mechanics will gain more relevance in the coming years, especially studies that combine computational models with different time and scale resolutions governed by “first principles.” Existing research suggests that, as machine learning is further coupled to quantum mechanics, scientists and engineers will better predict products, yields, and compositions, as well as more complicated features such as ideal reactor design.