Do you see the bottle? Poof-f-f – and she disappeared. New method for recycling plastic
“In heaven there is nothing but talk about the sea.” I wonder if they talk about plastic, which is full of it? It pollutes the oceans, soils, atmosphere, harms local and global ecosystems – you already know all this. You can still remember Great Pacific Garbage Patchbut why get upset. I would like to remove all this, but how?
Scientists are constantly looking for ways to recycle plastic safely and effectively. One of the new promising developments is the conversion of plastics into gas without any harmful side effects. Moreover, the products obtained as a result of processing can also be used in industry for human benefit. In this post I will tell you about the principle of operation of this technology, its prospects and significance for the environment. Let's go!
Traditional plastic recycling methods
Traditional methods of disposing of plastics, such as recycling or incineration, have major disadvantages. When burning plastic highlights hazardous chemicals including dioxins and furans: these are toxic and can harm human health and the environment.
And plastic recycling is a complex process in terms of work organization and technology. It requires sorting different types of materials, because not all plastics can be recycled using the same technology, they are different. As a result, disposal is complex, expensive and not always effective.
Because of all this, most plastic waste is not recycled and ends up in landfills or oceans. There it can all decompose for hundreds of years, releasing microplastics into the environment. You can't hide from garbage, you can't hide. Even on paradise islands like Bali, mountains of garbage wash up on the beach, including those brought from outside.
Transforming plastic into valuable gas
Recently, researchers from the University of California, Berkeley offered another method of processing polymers. A reaction using platinum and aluminum catalysts is used: they destroy carbon-hydrogen bonds in polypropylene and polyethylene. This leads to the breakdown of polymers into simple components that can be used to produce new materials or chemical compounds. We are talking about two organic gaseous substances at room temperature – propylene and isobutylene.
Unlike combustion, the recycling process using catalysts does not lead to the formation of toxic substances like dioxins. That is, the new technology causes less harm to the environment than conventional recycling methods. It also allows you to recycle polymers without the need for their preliminary separation (usually manual) – this simplifies the management of plastic waste. This is a huge step forward: the need for complex sorting systems is reduced, and the cost of recycling plastics is reduced.
That's it They say scientists on the significance of their method: “Because polypropylene and polyethylene are some of the most difficult and expensive plastics to separate from mixed waste, learning how to effectively recycle both is critical.” Research shows that the process can be scaled up and is not purely laboratory. And this already makes it attractive for industrial use. Of course, more research needs to be done first and the technology needs to be optimized to make it commercially viable. There are problems with this.
What are the difficulties?
Despite the enormous benefits of the new technology, certain challenges remain. These need to be addressed before it can be widely applied:
Firstly, the technology is still in the development stage, and its large-scale implementation will require additional research and funding. Secondly, questions remain about the economic feasibility of the process: although it is chemically efficient, the use of catalysts requires significant energy costs. Well, you know, platinum is worth a lot. Thirdly, we need infrastructure for waste processing. Currently, most recycling systems rely on traditional methods of sorting and recycling plastics, which requires time and investment to adapt to the new process. Business is not immediately ready to use any new product, no matter how promising it may be.
In short, the technology must pass stringent environmental and economic tests before it can be applied on a global scale. This requires time and additional resources.
Prospects for the new method
If the technology is successfully implemented, it will be possible to significantly reduce the volume of plastic waste that currently ends up in landfills and pollutes the environment. This will not only reduce pollution, but will also allow for the development of a closed recycling loop where waste can be reused to create new materials.
Authors of the project are considering the possibility of collecting and further using the resulting gases in various industries, for example in energy and chemical production. This will help reduce carbon emissions and improve the efficiency of natural resource use.
If scientists perfect the technology for industrial use, it could become the basis for a cleaner, more efficient way to recycle plastic without dangerous byproducts. Even with all the difficulties, such prospects are impressive. Perhaps this technology will be the beginning of clearing the beaches (and not only them) of the ubiquitous plastic bottles and cups.
