Jelly beans in a new recyclable plastic bowl
Photo by Alison Christie/Boise State University
A new type of plastic made from instant adhesives is easy to recycle and does not require fossil fuels to manufacture.
Allison Christie and Scott Phillips of Boise State University, Idaho, used ethyl cyanoacrylate, the main ingredient in strong adhesives, to make 6% polystyrene, commonly used in yogurt pots, disposable cups, and cutlery. created a plastic that can replace of plastic waste. Ethyl cyanoacrylate can be made from formaldehyde, and formaldehyde can be made from carbon dioxide.
When superglue is exposed to moisture, ethyl cyanoacrylate molecules combine to form polymer chains, but the reaction is so fast that only short chains are obtained. They created a way to slow down that process to form, thereby creating a stronger material known as poly(ethylcyanoacrylate), or PECA.
Instant glue is poured into special plastic molds that do not retain moisture, so the normal curing process does not occur. An organic compound called dimethylsulfoxide is then added to initiate slower polymerization.
The process can be done on an industrial scale, but previous experiments have used readily available sources.
“I use strong glue that I buy directly from Amazon,” says Christy. fine.”
PECA can be easily recycled by applying heat, breaking it down back into its constituent components. In tests, the researcher was able to recover his 90% of the material. This goes far beyond many plastic recycling processes.
It is also resilient to the dirty, contaminated conditions found in recycling centers. In one test, the team found that he combined 2 grams of virgin plastic with 1.98 grams of a shredded mixture of various types of unwashed, unseparated plastic waste and still achieved a 75% recycling yield. I was able to get
PECA that is disposed of in the environment is likely to degrade in the same way over an extended period of time, researchers say, although they have yet to test this.
Compared to long-lasting plastics made from fossil fuels, Phillips said PECA could be easier to manufacture and reuse if needed. “They’ve always been designed to last forever. We don’t need that,” he says.
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