plastic waste

Catalyst turns mixed plastic waste into natural gas

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via Chemistry World

Plastic waste can now be efficiently converted into methane using a ruthenium-based catalyst. The patented technology could help mitigate the planet’s growing plastic waste problem while producing methane for use as a fuel or chemical feedstock in a more environmentally friendly way than fracking.

Recovering chemicals and fuel from plastic waste streams is nothing new. Processes including pyrolysis and gasification, which break down plastics using high temperatures and catalytic processes, can recover useful materials. However, these approaches create several products, including waste, and require additional processing and purification.

Read the full story here: https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/catalyst-turns-mixed-plastic-waste-into-natural-gas/4013218.article

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    Seagrass ‘Neptune balls’ bundle plastic waste

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    via Phys.Org

    Underwater seagrass in coastal areas appear to trap bits of plastic in natural bundles of fibre known as “Neptune balls,” researchers said Thursday.

    With no help from humans, the swaying plants—anchored to shallow seabeds—may collect nearly 900 million plastic items in the Mediterranean alone every year, they reported in the journal Scientific Reports.

    read the full story here: https://phys.org/news/2021-01-seagrass-meadows-marine-plastic-sea.html

    New process upcycles plastic waste into a more valuable adhesive

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    via News Atlas

    A team at UC Berkeley has developed a process that turns plastic waste into something more valuable – an adhesive. Based on an engineered catalyst, the inspiration was to find ways to “upcycle” plastics by putting them to new uses while preserving the properties that made them attractive in the first place.

    Plastic waste is one of the modern world’s biggest environmental concerns, but plastics are notoriously unattractive to recycling companies. Unlike corrugated cardboard, glass, or scrap metal, plastics are very difficult to reuse and doing so makes the end product less valuable than the original plastic – which isn’t very valuable to begin with.

    Read the full story here: https://newatlas.com/science/waste-plastic-polyethylene-adhesive/

    Welsh government backs project to turn waste plastic into carbon nanotubes

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    via Circular

    The Welsh government is backing a cutting-edge science project at Swansea University that changes waste plastics into highly valuable compounds for the energy industries.

    The government is to invest in a plastics upscaling project which has the potential to create highly-skilled jobs in Wales, the university says.

    Scientists are extracting carbon atoms found in waste plastics and turning them into a nanotube format that can be used for the transmission of electricity.

    Read the full story here: https://www.circularonline.co.uk/news/welsh-government-backs-project-to-turn-waste-plastic-into-carbon-nanotubes/

    Brewers are addressing the beer industry’s plastic dilemma

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    via Marin Independent Journal

    Early this year, a brewery in East Aurora, New York, began offering customers a free pint of beer for each plastic four-pack or six-pack can carrier that they returned, a reuse program aimed at reducing the volume of plastic that flows into our economy’s waste stream, the terrestrial environment and the ocean.

    It was a good move for the beer industry. 42 North Brewing’s effort is focused specifically on the almost ubiquitous beverage carriers made by the company PakTech, and it will hopefully inspire other breweries to follow suit. After all, the United States and the European Union are huge contributors to the world’s plastic crisis, which poses an existential threat to marine wildlife.

    Read the full story here: https://www.marinij.com/2020/11/24/brewers-are-addressing-the-beer-industrys-plastic-dilemma/

    This Norwegian start-up wants to build houses out of 100% recycled plastic

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    via WeForum.org

    Using one of the world’s problems to solve another is the philosophy behind a Norwegian start-up’s mission to develop affordable housing from 100% recycled plastic.

    Since 1950, more than nine billion tonnes of plastic have been produced globally, of which only 9% is recycled, according to building tech company Othalo, while almost a billion people live in slums.

    Read the full story here: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/11/un-africa-recycled-plastic-housing/

    Research Turns Plastic Waste into Biodegradable Silk

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    via Plastics Today

    Solutions to big problems can spring from little things. In research at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY, a microorganism that digests common petroleum-based plastic waste and yields a biodegradable plastic alternative represents a new solution to an on-going problem.

    With the support of a substantial new National Science Foundation grant of $500,000 for the project, a team of engineers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will explore this potentially transformative idea entitled Microbial Upcycling of Petrochemical Polymer Waste into High Value Protein-Based Polymers for a Circular Economy.

    Read the full story here: https://www.plasticstoday.com/materials-research/research-turns-plastic-waste-biodegradable-silk

    Plastic Fuels: Do They Fix Waste Or Greenwash It?

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    via Forbes

    Marketed as a solution to the environmental and waste problems the plastic industry is currently facing, recycled carbon fuels are problematic. And they will be at odds with Wednesday’s vote from the EU Parliament backing a 60% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

    A briefing published by Zero Waste Europe shows that these fuels are produced by converting plastics back to their original fossil form. As they are burnt and carbon is released to the atmosphere, they are ultimately exacerbating climate change.

    Read the full story here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/emanuelabarbiroglio/2020/10/08/the-pros-and-cons-of-plastic-to-fuels/#4508a3ce48cb

    COVID-19 Lays Waste to Many US Recycling Programs

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    via Manufacturing Business Technology

    Many items designated as reusable, communal or secondhand have been temporarily barred to minimize person-to-person exposure. This is producing higher volumes of waste.

    Grocers, whether by state decree or on their own, have brought back single-use plastic bags. Even IKEA has suspended use of its signature yellow reusable in-store bags. Plastic industry lobbyists have also pushed to eliminate plastic bag bans altogether, claiming that reusable bags pose a public health risk.

    Read the full story here: https://www.mbtmag.com/home/news/21138099/covid19-lays-waste-to-many-us-recycling-programs

    How NASA’s 3D-Printers Test Recycling Plastic in Space

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    via FedTech Magazine

    NASA’s 3D-printing program began with making tiny wrenches and may end up building infrastructure on the moon. In between those moments, however, astronauts aboard the International Space Station are testing technology designed to make the printing process more efficient.

    The space station is currently home to two 3D printers, one known as the Refabricator and another called the Additive Manufacturing Facility (AMF). A third device, the Recycler, is designed to recycle used material to save room and weight on the ISS, much like the Refabricator. Each works in a slightly different way, and astronauts are trying to determine which works best.

    Read the full story here: https://fedtechmagazine.com/article/2020/05/how-nasas-3d-printers-test-recycling-plastic-space