US researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have found a new way to turn the world’s most common plastic waste into gasoline and diesel fuels.
US researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have found a new way to turn the world’s most common plastic waste into gasoline and diesel fuels. Polyethylene is a common polymer used in the manufacturing of grocery bags, kitchen cutting boards, and other consumer goods.
Through a specialized molten salt treatment, the long polymer chains in polyethylene are broken down into fuel-grade molecules.Currently, other known methods use high heat to break down plastic, but this new technique accomplishes the same at temperatures around 200°C . It makes the entire conversion process much cheaper and less energy-intensive.Low-temperature plastic conversion Typically, turning plastic back into oil requires an energy-intensive process called pyrolysis, which uses heat up to 500°C or above to break tough molecular bonds. The ORNL team took a different path by putting the plastic waste in a mixture of aluminum chloride-containing molten salts. These compounds are chemical survivors, remaining perfectly stable even under harsh reaction conditions.What makes the system stand out is the salt mixture itself. It serves as the stage for both the reaction and the tool that drives it.At the end, the process yielded 60% gasoline under “mild conditions.” Stripping away the complexity of older methods, this new method works without expensive noble metals, organic solvents, or a constant supply of external hydrogen.“This is the first time molten salts were used as media to produce high-value-added chemicals from waste without any catalytic initiator or solvent and at a temperature below 200 degrees Celsius,” said Zhenzhen Yang, an ORNL staff scientist and co-corresponding author.Insights into plastic transformationTo decode the exact moment the plastic transforms, researchers used advanced imaging and atomic tracking to monitor the chemical reaction.As per the study, neutron scattering and isotopic labeling were used to trace the breakdown of long chains into energy-dense fuel. In addition, soft X-ray spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance revealed that aluminum atoms bond to the polymer, driving the reaction. Further, it was found that aluminum atoms create high-acid hot spots that aggressively snap long polymer chains into smaller pieces. These molecular movements revealed a clear divide in the results: simpler chains consistently yielded gasoline-like fuel, while more intricate structures reorganized into diesel-like fuel.Together, these techniques provided a high-definition roadmap for how waste plastic can successfully evolve into high-grade fuel for various industries. As the system doesn’t require kick-starting with chemical initiators, it could eventually be integrated into large-scale industrial recycling plants.Further improvements requiredIt isn’t a perfect solution yet. The current aluminum-based salt is hygroscopic, meaning it greedily absorbs water from the air, which can ruin its stability. The researchers are now looking for ways to trap or shield these salts to make them more durable for long-term industrial use.If scaled up, the plastic currently choking landfills could help sustainably produce fuel. The world is already facing a plastic tidal wave, with waste levels on track to nearly triple by 2060 if it is not controlled. As postdoctoral researcher Liqi Qiu stated, “Polymer source material is abundantly available from consumer waste, and our catalyst system is very cheap. This advance may be promising for industry.”In the future, this aluminum-based system could be a powerful, cost-effective option for the mass production of high-grade transportation and industrial fuels.
Energy &Amp Environment Fuel Gasoline Inventions And Machines Molten Salt Method Plastic Waste Polyethylene Sustainability
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