Polyethylene and polypropylene account for over half of all plastic garbage, amounting to nearly 200 million tonnes each year. Scientists have found a solution in upcycling this plastic into soap.
To address this issue, the researchers created an oven-like reactor from scratch that could be used to safely burn down plastic.
For this, the bottom of the oven was heated to high degrees to break up the polymer chains, while its top remained at a low temperature to prevent them from breaking down too much. This process is known as temperature-gradient thermolysis.flask filled with waxes generated from waste polyethylene and polypropylene is heated in an oil bath, and the waxes are oxidized by a stream of airflow to produce fatty acids via catalytic oxidation.
They account for over half of all plastic garbage, amounting to nearly 200 million tonnes each year. More than 80 percent of plastic trash is discarded, with less than 10 percent recycled. "Our research demonstrates a new route for plastic upcycling without using novel catalysts or complex procedures. In this work, we have shown the potential of a tandem strategy for plastic recycling," said Zhen Xu, the lead author of the paper. "This will enlighten people to develop more creative designs of upcycling procedures in the future.”Conversion of plastic wastes to fatty acids is an attractive means to supplement the sourcing of these high-value, high-volume chemicals.
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