Researchers create new plastic type that could enable near-lossless recycling

[Polycount]

Recycling is certainly a useful process, and likely a necessary one if modern society is ever going to achieve near-complete sustainability. However, it is not perfect - as noted by Ensivo, recycling isn't perfectly efficient for all types of materials. Certain metals, such as aluminum, can be easily be melted down and re-used with very few lost materials.

Plastics, on the other hand, are an entirely different story. As the site points out, most plastics tend to retain their previous forms in some way when recycled, meaning you couldn't easily melt down a plastic bottle and turn it into fiberglass. This is because plastics are made up of monomers, which when combined together create polymers. Apparently, it's remarkably difficult to extract the raw monomers individually; they tend to stick together.

Researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory seem to have found a solution to this problem. As Ensivo reports, the scientists in question are using "triketones" and "amines" to construct a different type of polymer; one that responds much better to being broken down into its base components.

By using acid and other chemical processes, researchers were able to break down flame-resistant fiberglass weave into TK-6 powder, a piece of fiber, and a flame-retardant "additive." While it's unclear whether or not this process is completely lossless, it seems to come pretty close, and it's certainly a major achievement for the recycling industry regardless.

Now, the materials obtained from this extraction process can be used to create any new type of plastic researchers desire.

To be clear, this process will only be truly beneficial moving forward. Plastic makers would need to start using the triketones and amines mentioned before on a large scale to enable this form of recycling in the future. However, this is the first necessary step in the process, and it's nice to see such an old and seemingly static industry receive real innovation.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/79827-researchers-create-new-plastic-type-could-enable-near.html

 

[yRaz]

What about high density polyethylene? All you need to recycle that is heat, I've done it many times over with similar material. Casting and milling with HDPE for prototyping is awesome. You just melt the mill shavings back down into a plastic ingot,no acids needed.

Certainly, glass fiber reenforced nylon or propalene can't easily be recycled, but you could separate glass fiber from HDPE with a centrifuge

 

[Uncle Al]

This isn't new .... it's been available for over a decade as well as similar products made of organic materials. The issue is that the companies using it refuse to pay for it, thus leaving us all hip deep in plastic that won't break down. Unless our lawmakers take a stand and flat out outlaw the old stuff we are going to be stuck with it for a long, long time ......

 

[VitalyT]

Certain metals, such as aluminum, can be easily be melted down and re-used with very few lost materials

I didn't study chemistry in English, but how a basic element can lose a few materials? It sounds kind of odd to me, for the way that word material is used here. Maybe I'm wrong?

 

[captaincranky]

I didn't study chemistry in English, but how a basic element can lose a few materials? It sounds kind of odd to me, for the way that word material is used here. Maybe I'm wrong?

You're both tight and wrong. A "basic (or 'true') element", can only be broken down into sub-atomic particles, (or various isotopes" of the same element). Just ask any of many alchemists who wasted most of their lives and a big chunk of the middle ages trying to turn lead into gold. (they're only 3 numbers apart on the periodic table). Gold is 79, while lead is 82.

However, that which we call "steel", technically isn't an element, but rather iron, (which is elemental), and any other of a number of other elements, making it suitable for different purposes.

When you're trying to retrieve pure iron from scrap,those other elements are difficult to separate. I'm told that copper is particularly tenacious and difficult to remove.

With aluminum cans you have labeling inks and some form of lining material, but that should burn off for the most part.

However, lately you're likely to run into a lot more of something called "Chinese pot metal", which is low grade garbage, made from all different types of metal dumped into an arc furnace and simply melted together. We apparently put most of our "recycling" metals on a slow boar th China, where it meets a somewhat ignominious end, or "rebirth", call it what you will.

I don't know if I should have gone into this much detail elaborating on what might have been a lazy or ill conceived sentence, but I do like to hear myself talk, and hopefully it adds something to the conversation in the process.

 

[VitalyT]

However, lately you're likely to run into a lot more of something called "Chinese pot metal", which is low grade garbage, made from all different types of metal dumped into an arc furnace and simply melted together.

Without relation to China, I think we call it alloy

 

[captaincranky]

Without relation to China, I think we call it alloy

Yes, and I suppose Webster's would agree with you on that.

But, but, but, there's sort of a tacit implication that when you create an "alloy", you're working toward a purposeful and positive outcome.

As examples, I give you, steel, (which itself is an alloy), with chromium and nickel added, which gives you the basis for "stainless steel".

Adding together Aluminum, nickel, and cobalt, ("alnico"), gives you kick a** magnets for guitar pickups and loudspeakers.

Adding 20% tin or zinc to copper, gives you "bell bronze". Copper won't chime worth a sh!t on it's own.

Chinese pot metal isn't much good for anything but casting children's toys, which are expected to be broken in short order. (If they don't get broken quickly, the kid wasn't having fun with it). I will concede the point that pot metal does take lead paint very well. The lead paint can serve as a snack in a pinch. It does tend to dumb children down quite a bit, thus ultimately preparing them for buying $2,000 foldable "smartphones", because, "it seemed like a good idea at the time"..