Scientists Convert Mixed Plastic Waste to Hydrogen Fuel

Researchers from the Samueli School of Engineering at UCLA and Ewha Womans University in South Korea developed a new chemical process to convert mixed plastic waste into high-purity hydrogen fuel. The team demonstrated that alkaline thermal processing, using sodium hydroxide and heat, can efficiently recycle polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene, and polypropylene in a single reactor without sorting.

This new method operates at significantly lower temperatures than traditional gasification. The process builds on earlier work converting biomass into hydrogen and includes a pretreatment step for polyethylene and polypropylene to improve hydrogen production.

Experiments showed over 75% of the plastic’s original carbon became either stable sodium carbonate or liquid organic residue, minimizing atmospheric carbon release. Researchers are now exploring ways to scale the technology and further optimize the process. The technology addresses both plastic waste accumulation and the need for clean hydrogen in energy decarbonization.