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Modeling the depolymerization of plastics

As customer-driven demand for sustainable solutions increases, so does the clamor for more efficient post-consumer plastic recycling methods. While recycling reactor conditions can be explored experimentally, it is advantageous to employ in silico methods. This Comment focuses on detailed mechanistic approaches for modeling the depolymerization of plastics, the current state of this field and the directions it should take.

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Fig. 1: Modeling of the depolymerization of plastics can be carried out at various levels of detail, each with pros and cons.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful for the financial support of The Dow Chemical Company.

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Correspondence to Linda J. Broadbelt.

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Nature Chemical Engineering thanks Yin-Ning Zhou and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Best, A.K., Raghu, A.K., Majumdar, P. et al. Modeling the depolymerization of plastics. Nat Chem Eng 2, 8–10 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44286-024-00168-5

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