Three ways to solve the plastics pollution crisis

Kwon, Diana

doi:10.1038/d41586-023-00975-5

Cited by 38 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…A pressurized tandem fixed-bed reactor was used for series gas phase hydrogenation of mixed plastics (RX3050TR, Frontier Lab., Japan). − The scheme of fixed-bed reactors is shown in Figure S2. In this work, the first reactor is used for pretreating a variety of mixed plastic solid wastes (PP, PE, PET, PS, HIPS, POM, PC, PPO plastics, wasted bottle, etc.)…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mixed Plastics Wastes Upcycling with High-Stability Single-Atom Ru Catalyst

Zhang,

Wang,

et al. 2023

J. Am. Chem. Soc.

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Mixed plastic waste treatment has long been a significant challenge due to complex composition and sorting costs. In this study, we have achieved a breakthrough in converting mixed plastic wastes into a single chemical product using our innovative single-atom catalysts for the first time. The single-atom Ru catalyst can convert ∼90% of real mixed plastic wastes into methane products (selectivity >99%). The unique electronic structure of Ru sites regulates the adsorption energy of mixed plastic intermediates, leading to rapid decomposition of mixed plastics and superior cycle stability compared to traditional nanocatalysts. The global warming potential of the entire process was evaluated. Our proposed carbon-reducing process utilizing single-atom catalysts launches a new era of mixed plastic waste valorization.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mixed Plastics Wastes Upcycling with High-Stability Single-Atom Ru Catalyst

Zhang,

Wang,

et al. 2023

J. Am. Chem. Soc.

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“…The isolated product was then dried in vacuo for several hours to obtain a liquid product (28 mg). The structure of the product was determined by 1 H NMR, 13 C NMR and TOF-MS. 1…”

Section: Characterization Of the Cyclic Trimermentioning

confidence: 99%

Vacuum pyrolysis depolymerization of waste polystyrene foam into high-purity styrene using a spirit lamp flame for convenient chemical recycling

Yoshida

2023

RSC Sustain.

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“…10,11 The rapid increase in global plastic production and the massive volume of the resultant postconsumer waste have reached a crisis state that mandates the development of more efficient, universal polymer upcycling strategies. 12 Typical waste streams undergo different degrees of sorting and separation with the hope of limiting the number of components in the sorted streams to be ideally one or two components that are miscible. Subsequent mixing of the components in the melt leads to a single-phase system with properties that depend on those of the polymers that are mixed.…”

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An emergent area where the adhesion between immiscible polymers is of critical importance is in the upcycling of mixed plastic waste streams. , The rapid increase in global plastic production and the massive volume of the resultant post-consumer waste have reached a crisis state that mandates the development of more efficient, universal polymer upcycling strategies . Typical waste streams undergo different degrees of sorting and separation with the hope of limiting the number of components in the sorted streams to be ideally one or two components that are miscible.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Star Block Copolymers at Homopolymer Interfaces: Conformation and Compatibilization

Chen,

Steinmetz,

et al. 2023

Macromolecules

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Star block copolymers (s-BCPs), comprised of multiple linear diblock copolymers joined at a central point, are shown to segregate to the interface between two immiscible homopolymers that are identical to the blocks of the s-BCPs. The s-BCPs undergo a configurational transition at the interface, with different blocks of copolymers being embedded in their respective homopolymers, thereby bridging the interface and promoting adhesion. A series of 4-arm s-BCPs were synthesized with hydrogenated or deuterated polystyrene (PS/dPS) as the core block and poly(2-vinylpyridine) (P2VP) as the corona block, which was directly placed at the interface between the two homopolymers. Neutron reflectivity (NR) was used to determine the concentration profiles of the PS homopolymer, s-BCP core blocks, and P2VP total segments under equilibrium. The investigation varies the molecular weight (MW) and the total number of s-BCPs at the interface. Self-consistent-field theory (SCFT) was also employed to calculate the concentration profiles of the components at the interface, which were in excellent agreement with experimental results. The NR showed that the interfacial width between the homopolymers increased with the increasing number of s-BCPs at the interface up to a saturation limit. Beyond this limit, additional s-BCPs were released into the corona-miscible phase as unimolecular micelles. For a comparable interlayer thickness of s-BCPs at the interface, lower MW s-BCPs generated a broader interface. SCFT analysis suggested that, at the same packing density, the arms of the low MW s-BCPs align more parallel to the interface, while the arms of high MW s-BCPs adopt a more normal orientation, like their linear BCP counterparts. Furthermore, it was also observed that the core blocks, constrained by the junction points, were oriented more parallel and closer to the interface than the corona blocks. The phase behavior of the polymer blends revealed that s-BCP additives can efficiently reduce the domain size, with the low MW yielding smaller domain sizes due to the greater reduction in the interfacial energy and the high MW arresting phase separation due to their higher binding energy and a jamming of the interfacial assemblies. Asymmetric double cantilever beam (ADCB) tests demonstrated that s-BCPs promoted adhesion more efficiently than their linear BCP counterparts due to stronger binding energy per molecule, suggesting a more efficient compatibilizer for polymer upcycling. The results from these studies provide fundamental insights into the assembly of s-BCPs at homopolymer interfaces, the reduction of domain size, and promotion of adhesion, providing a strategy for the use of s-BCPs as stealth surfactants and universal compatibilizers.

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Three ways to solve the plastics pollution crisis

Cited by 38 publications

References 7 publications

Mixed Plastics Wastes Upcycling with High-Stability Single-Atom Ru Catalyst

Mixed Plastics Wastes Upcycling with High-Stability Single-Atom Ru Catalyst

Vacuum pyrolysis depolymerization of waste polystyrene foam into high-purity styrene using a spirit lamp flame for convenient chemical recycling

Star Block Copolymers at Homopolymer Interfaces: Conformation and Compatibilization

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