Way to Eliminate Plastic Waste for Good

The ‘holy grail’ of plastic- a material that can be repeatedly recycled without any loss of quality- has been created by scientists. Placed in an acid bath, it can be fully broken down into its component parts. Like “lego”, these monomers can be reassembled into different shapes, colours and textures.

Currently, less than a third of recyclable platic is re-purposed to create new materials, leaving the majority od it to end-up in land-fill or the ocean. Most plastic never made to be recycled. But there is a new way discovered by the scientists to assemble plastics that takes recycling into consideration for a molecular perspective. The new material, which is called poly diketoenamine (ODK), can unlike normal plastics, have its monomers separated by dunking the material in a highly acidic solution. The acid breaks the bonds between monomers and separates them from additives that give the plastic its distinctive look and feel. These monomers can be recovered for reuse for as long as possible or upcycled to make another product.

With PDKs, the immutable bonds of conventional plastics are replaced with reversible bonds that allow the plastic to be recycled more effectively. The next plan is to develop PDK platics with a range of properties used for different purposes, including textiles, 3 D printing and foams.

Matter Referenced:  Times of India, Ahmedabad, Sunday, 12th May, 2019.

By: Dr. Bhawana Asnani.

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