Reliability of milligram-scale high-throughput screening for evaluating polyolefin chemical recycling in the melt with heterogeneous catalysis

Catalyst design for plastic recycling can greatly benefit from the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence, offering powerful tools for solving complex, multi-parameter problems. This highlights the need for high-quality datasets on catalyst properties and performance. This study introduces a fast, lab-validated screening method for melt-phase polyolefin recycling using heterogeneous catalysis. Two-dimensional thermogravimetric analysis and micropyrolysis-GCxGC-FID/MS are employed as milligram-scale screening tools to evaluate over 60 catalysts for acid-catalyzed cracking of polyethylene and polypropylene. The manuscript outlines the experimental methodology, encompassing performance descriptors for catalytic activity, stability, and selectivity. Validation through lab-scale semi-batch slurry reactor experiments demonstrates that observed trends in activity and stability are scalable and consistent with established catalytic principles, provided it is conducted under the recommended conditions. Moreover, micropyrolysis proves to be a reliable proxy for selectivity assessment. This methodology serves as a valuable reference for generating robust and reproducible datasets in the context of plastic recycling.