Cosmos Editorial
US researchers say they have developed a catalytic method to turn single-use plastic into high-quality liquid products such as motor oils, lubricants, detergents and even cosmetics.
A team led by Northwestern University, Argonne National Laboratory, and Ames Laboratory describes the process in the journal ACS Central Science.
The key is making use of the strong carbon-carbon bonds that mean plastics don’t naturally degrade – they break up into dangerous microplastics.
“We sought to recoup the high energy that holds those bonds together by catalytically converting the polyethylene molecules into value-added commercial products,” says Argonne’s Massimiliano Delferro.
The catalyst comprises platinum nanoparticles deposited onto perovskite nanocubes using atomic layer deposition, a technique developed at Argonne that allows precise control of nanoparticles.
Under moderate pressure and temperature, the researchers say, the catalyst cleaves plastic’s carbon-carbon bond to produce high-quality liquid hydrocarbons.
This, they add, is in stark contrast to commercially available catalysts, which generate lower quality products with many short hydrocarbons, limiting the products’ usefulness.
