New catalyst could make mixed plastic recycling a reality.
New catalyst could make mixed plastic recycling a reality.
The future of plastic recycling may soon get much less complicated, frustrating and tedious.
In a new study, Northwestern University chemists have introduced a new plastic upcycling process that can drastically reduce — or perhaps even fully bypass — the laborious chore of pre-sorting mixed plastic waste.
The process harnesses a new, inexpensive nickel-based catalyst that selectively breaks down polyolefin plastics consisting of polyethylenes and polypropylenes — the single-use kind that dominates nearly two-thirds of global plastic consumption. This means industrial users could apply the catalyst to large volumes of unsorted polyolefin waste.
Read More: Northwestern University
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