Scientists have developed a new way to break plastic waste, using moisture from the air.
By exposing a common type of plastic to an inexpensive catalyst and letting it exposed to the surrounding air, the researchers fell 94 % of the materials in just four hours.
Plastic turns into turifier acid (TPA), which is a high -value building block for polyester. Since TPA can be rotated in more valuable materials, the process provides a safer and cheaper alternative to current plastic recycling methods. The researchers published their results on February 3 in the magazine Green chemistry.
“The United States is the first rank in the individual of plastic pollutants, and we recycle only 5 % of that plastic,” the opposite author Yossi KratishAssistant Professor for Chemistry Research at Northwestern University, He said in a statement. “What is particularly excited in our research is that we have harnessed moisture from air to destroy plastic, and achieve exceptionally clean and selective. By recovering monomra, which are the basic petals of the pets [polyethylene terephthalate]We can recycle or even rotate them in more valuable materials. “
Plastic waste is an increasingly important issue. More than half of the plastic made since 2000 has been produced, and annual production is expected to double by 2050, According to the European Environment Agency.
To date, only 9 % of the produced plastic has been recycled. The rest can be, with generations that often last, environmental and healthy effects. For example, they are Wash into the sea To form floating points from garbage, Wildlife damageAnd the collapse to the exact plastic that can enter a person brain And other parts of Bodies.
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To find a new way to dismantle some of these waste, the researchers applied the moldinum stimulus – a silver metal, and a cycle – and the stimulant of pets, which is the most common type of polyester plastic. Then the researchers heated the mixture. After a short period, this broken chemical bonds of polyethylene.
Then, when the team revealed the materials for air, the mixture turned into TPA, which is a valuable polyester introduction; Acetaldehyde, an industrial chemical also of value and is easy to raise from the mixture.
When they tested the method in mixed plastic materials, the researchers found that it had only an effect on polyester materials. This means that they did not have to drive the plastic. I have worked on plastic bottles, shirts and colored plastic, and destroying them to the pure TPA and color.
“I have done completely,” Kratish said. “When we added additional water, I stopped working because it was a lot of water. It is a good balance. But it turned out that the amount of water in the air was just an appropriate amount.”
The next steps for the team will be to adapt the process to industrial applications on a large scale.
“Our technology has the ability to reduce plastic pollution significantly, reduce the environmental footprint of plastic and contribute to the circular economy where the materials are re -used instead of getting rid of them.” Navin MalikHe said, who was a researcher at Northwestern University at the time. “It is a tangible step towards a cleaner and more green future, and explains how innovative chemistry can face global challenges in a way that is in line with nature.”