Background Introduction

Plastics have become indispensable in industrial production and daily life because they are lightweight, durable, waterproof, chemically stable, and have low manufacturing costs. The widespread use of plastics has led to an enormous increase in plastic waste. Its unreasonable disposal brings great harm to human beings and the environment. By focusing on the problem of treating waste plastics, this chapter examines the hazards of waste plastics, the limitations of traditional treatment methods, the unique properties of supercritical water (SCW), and the principles and research progress of technology targeting the utilization of waste plastics resources in SCW. In the global environment calling for environmental protection, energy conservation, and emission reduction, clean and efficient SCW treatment technology will become a public focus and research hotspot.