Page 68 - Plastics News July 2024

TECHNOLOGY NEWS

new RegNav offering and existing services. Once we RegNav currently supports Class I, II, and III medical
identify a regulatory pathway, we can also support devices seeking clearance/approval under FDA CFR.
customers in the testing and certification process, Element is ambitious to expand RegNav to other ju-
acting as a true partner for market access. RegNav risdictions, including EU Medical Device Reporting
strips away the complexity to give customers a clear (MDR) and In Vitro Diagnostic Regulation (IVDR).
path to compliance.”

Blasting Plastic Waste with Low-

Powered Lasers Creates Carbon Dots,

Delivers Novel Recycling

hanging molecular bonds with laser light able and circular economy," claims project co-lead
could turn plastic waste into a valuable mate- Yuebing Zheng of the team's laser-based research.
Crial for future technologies, researchers claim. "This discovery has significant implications for ad-
dressing environmental challenges and advancing
Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin, the field of green chemistry."
the University of California at Berkeley, Tohoku Uni-
versity, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,
Baylor University, and the Pennsylvania State Uni-
versity believe they may have a better way to recy-
cle plastics — by blasting them with lasers to break
them down into carbon dots.
"By harnessing these unique reactions, we can ex-
plore new pathways for transforming environmen-
tal pollutants into valuable, reusable chemicals,
contributing to the development of a more sustain-
able and circular economy," claims project co-lead
Yuebing Zheng of the team's laser-based research.
"This discovery has significant implications for ad- Designed to offer a potential solution to the grow-
dressing environmental challenges and advancing ing problem of plastic waste, which is often hard
the field of green chemistry." to recycle and harder still to dispose of safetly, the
team's work sees plastic hit with relatively low-pow-
Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin,
the University of California at Berkeley, Tohoku Uni- ered laser light in order to reassemble its chemical
versity, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, bonds — turning it into luminescent carbon dots, a
Baylor University, and the Pennsylvania State Uni- material that is of-interest in a range of fields includ-
versity believe they may have a better way to recy- ing as the basis for a potential memory for future
cle plastics — by blasting them with lasers to break computers.
them down into carbon dots. Source – hackster.io

"By harnessing these unique reactions, we can ex-
plore new pathways for transforming environmen-
tal pollutants into valuable, reusable chemicals,
contributing to the development of a more sustain-

70 PLASTICS NEWS July 2024