Insight into the mechanism of copper on pyrolysis of waste polyurethane: Decrease the activation energy and reduce halogenated compounds

Jia Houyuan; Wang Jiahui; Feng Chunyan; Xu Siyi; Gao Ruitong; Du Hui

doi:10.1016/j.cjche.2025.08.014

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Insight into the mechanism of copper on pyrolysis of waste polyurethane: Decrease the activation energy and reduce halogenated compounds

Updated：2026-03-13

- Insight into the mechanism of copper on pyrolysis of waste polyurethane: Decrease the activation energy and reduce halogenated compounds
- Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol. 89, Issue 1, Pages: 324-333(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China
  College of Life Sciences, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China
  Dongying Ecological Environment Service Center of Shandong Province, Dongying 257094, China
- Author bio：
  
  Corresponding author. E-mail address: gaoruitong@qdu.edu.cn(R. Gao).
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1016/j.cjche.2025.08.014
  CLC：
- Received：02 July 2025，
  
  Revised：2025-08-27，
  
  Accepted：28 August 2025，
  
  Online First：12 September 2025，
  
  Published：2026-01
- Accepted：
Scan QR Code
Jia Houyuan, Wang Jiahui, Feng Chunyan, et al. Insight into the mechanism of copper on pyrolysis of waste polyurethane: Decrease the activation energy and reduce halogenated compounds[J]. Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering, 2026, 89(1): 324-333.
DOI：

Jia Houyuan, Wang Jiahui, Feng Chunyan, et al. Insight into the mechanism of copper on pyrolysis of waste polyurethane: Decrease the activation energy and reduce halogenated compounds[J]. Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering, 2026, 89(1): 324-333. DOI： 10.1016/j.cjche.2025.08.014.

摘要

Abstract

Pyrolysis technology has emer

ged as a promising method for converting waste polyurethane (WPU) from waste refrigerators into high-value chemicals. In this study

the copper (Cu)-assisted pyrolysis strategy was employed to enhance the thermal degradation efficiency and product quality of WPU. Kinetic analysis revealed that the activation energy (

) of the Cu-assisted pyrolysis was 136.64 kJ·mol

- 1

and Cu-assisted pyrolysis was controlled by the combined processes of diffusion

nucleation and phase boundary reactions. Comprehensive product analysis

including gas chromatography—mass spectrometry and thermogravimetric Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy—mass spectrometry suggested that Cu promoted the cleavage of urethane bonds and accelerated the decarboxylation of isocyanates

increasing the yields of aniline and ethanol at lower temperatures. Meanwhile

Cu effectively suppressed the formation of halogenated and heterocyclic compounds by promoting the cleavage of C—

(

= Cl

F) bonds through electron transfer interactions. Thus

the

is decreased and the halogenated compounds is reduced. This work provides the theoretical basis for converting waste to high-valued products through co-pyrolysis techniques.

关键词

Keywords

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