The invention discloses a method for preparing
ethylbenzene through
alcohol-mediated
polystyrene catalytic
hydrogenolysis and a catalyst thereof. Comprising the following steps: mixing a
copper salt solution with an alkaline
oxide dispersion liquid, dropwise adding an alkaline precipitator under a heating condition to adjust the pH value to 4-10, centrifuging, washing,
drying and calcining to obtain the catalyst. The catalytic
hydrogenolysis method comprises the following steps: adding
polystyrene, a catalyst and
alcohol into a reactor together, and reacting for 1-24 hours at 300-500 DEG C in an
inert atmosphere to obtain
ethylbenzene. The core of the method is that the
alcohol is used as a reaction medium and an in-situ
hydrogen source, the
hydrogenolysis reaction of
polystyrene is realized under the catalytic action, the dependence on high-risk and high-pressure externally supplied
hydrogen in the traditional process is avoided, and the
process safety is remarkably improved. And the preparation process is simple, low in cost and easy to recycle. By applying the method, the yield of light
aromatic hydrocarbon can reach 70% or above, the yield of
ethylbenzene can reach 42% or above, and a novel and efficient solution is provided for safe and high-valued
recovery of polystyrene waste.