polymer

New lightweight material is stronger than steel

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New lightweight material is stronger than steel​

via MIT News

The new substance is the result of a feat thought to be impossible: polymerizing a material in two dimensions.

Using a novel polymerization process, MIT chemical engineers have created a new material that is stronger than steel and as light as plastic, and can be easily manufactured in large quantities.

The new material is a two-dimensional polymer that self-assembles into sheets, unlike all other polymers, which form one-dimensional, spaghetti-like chains. Until now, scientists had believed it was impossible to induce polymers to form 2D sheets.

Read the full story here: https://news.mit.edu/2022/polymer-lightweight-material-2d-0202

Partnership to study chemically recycling plastics from ASR

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via Recycling Today

plastic scrap recycling

Eastman, Kingsport, Tennessee, has announced that it is collaborating with Padnos and the United States Automotive Materials Partnership LLC (USAMP) on a concept feasibility study to recycle mixed plastic scrap recovered from automotive shredder residue (ASR). USAMP is a subsidiary of the United States Council for Automotive Research LLC (USCAR).  

ASR consists of mixed plastic and other materials and currently end up in landfills or in waste-to-energy technologies. Under this initiative, Padnos, Holland, Michigan, will supply ASR as a feedstock for Eastman’s molecular recycling process. The company operates auto shredders in Holland and Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Read the full story here: https://www.recyclingtoday.com/article/padnost-eastman-usamp-studing-chemically-recycling-asr/

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/

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

National Science Foundation Awards Grant to Rensselaer Polytechnic for Research into New Plastic

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via Plastics Today

With the support of a $300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, chemical engineers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY, aim to develop a new polymer that can replace polystyrene (PS). While PS is inexpensive and easy to make, it is difficult to break down into its original components for re-use through a process called depolymerization. Founded in 1824, Rensselaer is America’s first technological research university.

Read the full story here: https://www.plasticstoday.com/materials/national-science-foundation-awards-grant-rensselaer-polytechnic-research-new-plastic/21414866763275

Polystyrene ball-stick model with 11 countable monomers. PakpongICCH444 / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)

Plastic Recycling Initiatives – Waste Plastic Used as Bus Fare in Indonesia

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In Indonesia, commuters pay for the bus with plastic waste

via AsianCorrespondent.com

RESIDENTS of Indonesia’s second largest city Surabaya can now pay for the bus in a novel way – by trading in used plastic.

The city’s mayor Tri “Risma” Rismaharini last month announced the roll out of the new Suroboyo Bus, comfortable, air-conditioned buses which are, importantly, accessible for disabled, elderly and pregnant passengers.

Read the full story here: https://asiancorrespondent.com/2018/05/in-indonesia-commuters-pay-for-the-bus-with-plastic-waste/

 

Why polymer solar cells deserve their place in the sun

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via EurekAlert

Polymer solar cells may lag behind traditional silicon solar cells in longevity and efficiency, but could ultimately power autonomous remote sensors and wearable technology.

Unlike traditional silicon solar cells, organic polymer solar cells (PSCs) may never cover the hillsides of a megawatt solar farm. But, these lightweight, flexible cells show potential to provide solar power to remote microwatt sensors, wearable technology and the Wi-Fi-connected appliances constituting the “internet of things.”

Read the full story here: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-02/aiop-wps021618.php

Material gradients could strengthen polymer components

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via Phys.org

Combining flexible and stiff materials has bestowed bamboo with a strength-to-weight ratio that rivals steel. Gradually transitioning from a soft to hard substance allows the squishy squid to slice up prey with rigid, scissor-like beaks.

With the help of a new  co-developed at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, these two evolution-honed principles could eventually enable engineers to double or triple the strength of polymer-based components.

Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-02-material-gradients-polymer-components.html#jCp

Winter Olympics: Could Plastic “Ice” Help Overcome Bias toward Colder Countries?

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via Scientific American

Scientists and sports enthusiasts alike have long been looking to level this frigid playing field via the development of plastics that can serve as synthetic ice to line backyard hockey and ice-skating rinks. But the type of polymer needed to coat a sloping two-kilometer track—one that can accommodate sleds traveling in excess of 125 kilometers per hour—has proved much more elusive. “Any synthetic track needs to offer a similar sliding and driving experience to ice and not create any concerns about athlete safety,” says Jan-Anders Månsson, director of Purdue University’s Composites Manufacturing and Simulation Center and a professor in materials and chemical engineering. “It also needs to be both durable and cost-effective.” Read the full story here: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/winter-olympics-could-plastic-ldquo-ice-rdquo-help-overcome-bias-toward-colder-countries/

File:Olympic rings without rims.svg