Upcycling Municipal Solid Waste to Polymers and Bioethanol

Municipal solid waste (MSW) is heterogeneous and contaminated, making integrated valorization difficult. Here we directly process raw MSW using a platform that couples solvent-targeted recovery and precipitation (STRAP) with enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation to co-produce plastic resins and ethanol. Thermodynamically guided solvent selection enables STRAP to recover polyolefins (PE and PP) from the plastic fraction while enriching the remaining biogenic fraction. The residue is enzymatically hydrolyzed to generate concentrated fermentable sugars, which are converted to ethanol via microbial fermentation. Demonstrating performance on real, unwashed MSW establishes robustness to unavoidable feed variability and contamination and provides a practical circular pathway linking high-quality polymer recovery with biochemical fuel production. Techno-economic analysis and life-cycle assessment indicate the integrated system can be economically promising and reduce environmental impacts relative to conventional disposal and production routes.