‘Flash Joule’ technology efficiently turns contaminants into valuable nanomaterials
Putting that soda bottle or takeaway container in the recycling bin is far from a guarantee that it will turn into something new. I’m trying
According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the amount of plastic waste produced globally has doubled in the last 20 years, and plastic production is expected to triple by 2050. By some estimates, only 5% is actually recycled.
“Waste plastic is rarely recycled because it costs a lot of money to wash, sort and melt it all to turn it into a material that can be used in factories. Published in Advanced Materials. The lead author of the published study, he describes how he and colleagues in the lab of chemist James Tour used flash joule heating techniques to transform plastics into valuable carbon nanotubes and hybrid nanomaterials.
“We were able to create hybrid carbon nanomaterials that outperformed both graphene and commercial carbon nanotubes,” said Wyss.
Graphene, carbon nanotubes, and other carbon-based nanomaterials are generally strong, chemically robust, have low density and high surface area, and possess electrical conductivity and broadband electromagnetic wave absorption capabilities. This makes them useful for a variety of industrial, medical and electronics applications such as composites, coatings, sensors and electrochemical energy storage.
“What’s really interesting about our results is that we were able to create carbon nanotubes with small pieces of graphene attached to the edges,” says Wyss. “You can think of the structure of this new hybrid nanomaterial as similar to bean sprouts or lollipops.
The structure of the new hybrid carbon nanomaterial is responsible for its enhanced performance.
“Let’s say I was trying to pull a thread out of a sweater,” says Wyss. “If the string is straight and smooth, it can easily come off and ruin the weave. Carbon nanotubes are the same. becomes much more difficult, which strengthens the composite.
“You can think of it this way: If you have a thorn, it’s easy to get out. But if you get stung by something with a curved tip, like a fishhook, it’s much harder to remove,” he added. I was.
The plastics, which do not need to be sorted or washed like traditional recycling, are “flashed” at temperatures above 3,100 Kelvin (about 5,120 degrees Fahrenheit). “You just grind the material into small confetti-sized pieces, add a little iron, and mix in a little bit of another carbon, like charcoal, for conductivity,” he says.
“Recycling plastic costs more than producing new plastic,” he added. “There are few economic incentives to recycle plastic, so we turned to upcycling, which turns low-value waste into something of higher monetary or use value. , people can make money by taking responsibility for how they dispose of their plastic waste.”
A life cycle analysis of the production process revealed that flash joule heating is more energy efficient and environmentally friendly than existing nanotube production processes.
“Compared to the commercial methods of carbon nanotube production currently in use, our method uses about 90% less energy and produces 90% to 94% less carbon dioxide,” said Wyss. I’m here.
Original: Profit potential gives promise to Rice Labs plastic waste project
Than: Rice University
