Page 47 - Plastics News January 2021

teChnoLogy

Breaking down Plastics into their constituents

esearchers from Recycling Technologies to collaborate with NiTech,
Rt he Universit y a leading authority and expert on continuous processing,
of Bath’s Centre for the Centre for Sustainable and Circular Technologies
Sustainable and Circular (CSCT) at the University of Bath and Optimal Industrial
Technologies (CSCT) Automation, a leading specialist in the automation
have linked up with of manufacturing systems to optimise production
Recycling Technologies, processes.The project examined the feasibility of
also in the UK, to develop incorporating NiTech’s Oscillating Baffle Reactor (OBR)
a method of chemically into the existing elements within Recycling Technologies
breaking down mixtures pyrolysis machine to enhance the quality of Plaxx® to
of plastics into their steam-cracker ready feedstock, thus avoiding the need for
constituents, which pre-treatment in advance to the manufacture of new plastic.
can then be used to At the University of Bath, Professor Matthew Davidson,
manufacture new plastics. The company has announced Dr Alfred Hill, Dr Simon Freakley, Dr Ulrich Hintermair
it has completed the first phase of a project funded by and Professor Marcelle McManus from the CSCT have
the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) from UK all been involved in the project. Matthew Davidson,
Research and Innovation to enhance the efficiency of its Whorrod Professor of Sustainable Chemical Technologies
chemical recycling process by hydrogenating Plaxx®, a and Director of the CSCT said, “We are delighted to have
recycled feedstock which can be used to manufacture been a key part of this exciting project working with a
new plastic. The project also investigated automation of range of specialist companies on the problem of plastics
the recycling process.The SBRI project funding allowed sustainability.

Flashing plastic ash completes recycling

ice University in 2019, pyrolyzed ash turns into turbostratic graphene.
Rscientists have That has weaker attractive interactions between the
turned their attention flakes, making it easier to mix them into solutions. Last
to Joule heating of the October, the Tour lab reported on a process to convert
material, a byproduct waste plastic into graphene. The new process is even
of plastic recycling more specific, turning plastic that is not recovered by
processes. A strong recycling into a useful product. "This work enhances the
jolt of energy flashes circular economy for plastics," Tour said. "So much plastic
it into graphene.The waste is subject to pyrolysis in an effort to convert it
technique by the lab of back to monomers and oils. The monomers are used
Rice chemist James Tour in repolymerization to make new plastics, and the oils
produces turbostratic are used in a variety of other applications. But there is
graphene flakes that always a remaining 10% to 20% ash that's valueless and
can be directly added is generally sent to landfills. "Now we can convert that
to other substances ash into flash graphene that can be used to enhance the
like films of polyvinyl strength of other plastics and construction materials," he
alcohol (PVA) that better resist water in packaging and said. Adding as little as 0.1% of graphene increases the
cement paste and concrete, dramatically increasing their amount of strain the PVA composite can handle before
compressive strength.The research appears in the journal failure by up to 30%, they reported. It also significantly
Carbon. Like the flash graphene process the lab introduced improves the material's resistance to water permeability.

47 Januar y 2021 Plastics News