“Plastics are a victim of their own success, so inexpensive, easy to use and versatile that the world is awash in plastic waste. Now researchers from the University of Houston have reported a new method of producing polyolefins—made from hydrocarbons and the most common building block of plastics—structured to address one of the biggest stumbling blocks to plastics recycling.
The process also would allow plastics to be produced from food oils and other natural substances.
Eva Harth, director of the Welch-UH Center for Excellence in Polymer Chemistry, said the process addresses a long-standing need for industrial plastics producers, without requiring a new catalyst or expensive additives. “It’s a very simple process,” she said.”
View the whole story here: https://phys.org/news/2020-03-deceptively-simple-boost-plastics-recycling.html