Page 58 - Plastics News August 2019

TECHNOLOGY

A green way to burn plastic waste

rakash Somasundaran, a Computer Science engineer ZLWK ZDWHU ZKLFK ZLOO GLVVROYH WKH KDUPIXO JDVHV µ KH VD\V
Pfrom Thrissur, has come up with an ‘eco clean plastic %XUQLQJ LQRUJDQLF ZDVWH LQ WKH RSHQ ZLWK XQFRQWUROOHG ÀUH LV
waste burner’, which can burn plastic in an eco-friendly very dangerous. It may release many toxic gases, resulting
manner. The apparatus uses low-cost natural fuel such as in air pollution. Particularly, plastic waste may contain
FRFRQXW VKHOO ÀEUH styrene and PVC, which may cause dangerous emissions such
and sawdust for as styrene gas and highly toxic chemicals. The styrene gas
burning plastic. No can be absorbed by the skin and lungs. Toxic gases emitted
chemical has been by plastic waste burning can also cause cancer, asthma,
used in it, says and other diseases. Many techniques have been used for
Mr. Somasundaran, addressing the harmful effects of plastic burning using
an alumnus furnace or burner. Using burner may reduce the emission of
of Bharatiar toxic gases. “My apparatus uses natural fuel and provides
University. Burning D ORZ FRVW ZD\ WR EXUQ SODVWLF ZDVWH LQ KRXVHKROGV µ KH
of plastic waste says. The apparatus costs around Rs 50,000 and can burn
has been a huge around 5-10 kg of plastic waste a day. The fuel cost for a
challenge as it GD\ ZLOO EH RQO\ 5V µ DFFRUGLQJ WR 0U 6RPDVXQGDUDQ +H
produces harmful has an Indian patent for the invention. “Generally, burner
gases, which may XVHV DUWLÀFLDO IXHO %XW JDV NHURVHQH DQG RLO PD\ FRVW
cause many health high and release more harmful smoke. Further, materials
hazards, including cancer. “The trick lies in pyrolysis of such as wood only burns for a shorter time and gets lit off
sawdust, which produces large amounts of heat, as high easily. Heavy plastic metals cannot be melted completely
as 300 degrees Celsius. For treating the hazardous gases in this short time and it requires more fuel for consistent
being produced when plastic burns, you have to treat them and long-term burning.

Polymers relax after stressful processing

new study has found that entangled, long-chain published in the journal Physical Review Letters, could
Apolymers in solutions relax at two different rates, help improve synthetic materials manufacturing and has
marking an advancement in fundamental polymer applications in biology, mechanical and materials sciences
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of the physical properties of polymeric materials and experiments show that polymers like to show off their
individualistic behavior, which has revealed unexpected
and striking heterogeneous dynamics in entangled
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professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and
faculty member of the Beckman Institute for Advanced
Science and Technology at the University of Illinois at
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understand how single polymers -- acting as individuals
-- work together to give materials macroscopic properties
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critical new insight to how individual polymer molecules watch -- in real time -- as individual polymer molecules
respond to high-stress processing conditions. The study, relax after the stretching, pulling and squeezing of the

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