A team led by Virginia Tech researchers has developed a new method for upcycling plastics into high-value chemicals known as surfactants, which are used to create soap, detergent, and more. The work was published in Science.
Polymers
Aug 10, 2023
1
107
Polyethylene plastics—in particular, the ubiquitous plastic bag that blights the landscape—are notoriously hard to recycle. They're sturdy and difficult to break down, and if they're recycled at all, they're melted into ...
Polymers
Sep 29, 2022
1
167
Millions of tons of plastic end up in landfills every year. It's a big societal problem and an even larger environmental threat.
Analytical Chemistry
Apr 22, 2021
2
360
When we started using plastics about 70 years ago, not much thought—if any—was given to the implications of their lifespan and the fact that they can take centuries to decompose. Consequently, as plastics have diversified ...
Materials Science
Oct 22, 2020
2
501
A team of researchers from the U.K., China, and Saudi Arabia has developed a process for converting plastic waste into hydrogen gas and carbon nanotubes. In their paper published in the journal Nature Catalysis, the group ...
More than 1.3 billion tonnes of plastic will be dumped on land and in the oceans over the period from 2016 to 2040 unless the world acts, say a team of 17 global experts who have developed a computer model to track the stocks ...
Environment
Jul 23, 2020
6
417
Stanford scientists have discovered a novel way to make plastic from carbon dioxide (CO2) and inedible plant material, such as agricultural waste and grasses. Researchers say the new technology could provide a low-carbon ...
Materials Science
Mar 9, 2016
0
4555
A plastic grocery bag cartwheels down the beach until a gust of wind spins it into the ocean. In 192 coastal countries, this scenario plays out over and over again as discarded beverage bottles, food wrappers, toys and other ...
Environment
Feb 12, 2015
5
156
(Phys.org) —Daniel Hoornweg associate professor at the University of Ontario, Perinaz Bhada-Tata a Dubai based solid-waste consultant, and Chris Kennedy a professor at the University of Toronto, have together published ...
(PhysOrg.com) -- By dissolving polystyrene packing peanuts in biodiesel, scientists have found that they can boost the power output of the fuel while getting rid of garbage at the same time.
