Page 76 - Plastics News July 2025
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TECHNOLOGY NEWS
trifuge tubes into activated carbon nanosheets, from coffee cups has been pyrolyzed to produce
achieving a specific capacitance of 349 F/g at carbon materials with a specific capacitance of
0.5 A/g. This performance rivals that of commer- 271.3 mA h/g at 20 mA/g. These materials not
cial carbon materials. only provide a renewable source of carbon but
also demonstrate comparable or superior per-
Applications in Energy Storage
formance to traditional graphite anodes.
Carbon materials derived from waste plastics Other Applications: Hydrogen Production
are finding applications in a wide range of en-
ergy storage devices. Beyond solid-state energy storage, scientists
are turning waste plastics into hydrogen, a clean
♦ Supercapacitors
and efficient energy source. They use processes
Supercapacitors are known for delivering high like pyrolysis-gasification to break down plas-
power and fast charge-discharge cycles. This tics into hydrogen-rich gases. For example, a
makes them perfect for electric vehicles, renew- two-stage pyrolysis-gasification process with a
able energy systems, and portable electronics. nickel-manganese-aluminum catalyst can con-
Carbon materials made from waste plastics work vert mixed plastic waste into hydrogen-rich gas.
especially well as supercapacitor electrodes be- This method produces up to 94.4 mmol of H per
2
cause they have a high surface area and excel- gram of plastic.
lent conductivity. Challenges and Opportunities
For instance, hierarchical porous carbon derived While converting waste plastics into energy
from mixed waste plastics (PE, PP, PS, PET, and storage materials offers immense promise, sev-
PVC) has demonstrated a specific capacitance eral challenges remain. First, different types of
of 120 F/g at 0.1 A/g in organic electrolytes. This plastics have varying chemical compositions.
performance is comparable to that of commer- These differences can affect the quality and
cial activated carbon. performance of the resulting carbon materials.
♦ Batteries Therefore, researchers must develop processes
that can manage this diversity. Second, scaling
The demand for lithium-ion batteries is increas- up these processes from laboratory to indus-
ing quickly, thanks to the growth of electric ve- trial levels will require significant investment in
hicles and renewable energy systems. However, infrastructure and technology. Finally, the envi-
making traditional battery materials like graphite ronmental impact of the conversion processes
uses a lot of resources and harms the environ- needs attention. Researchers and engineers
ment. Waste plastics can provide a more sus- must optimize these processes to reduce emis-
tainable solution. sions and energy consumption, ensuring their
sustainability and long-term viability.
Researchers have successfully converted PS
and PE into carbon materials for use in lithium- Source – Plastics Engineering
ion and sodium-ion batteries. For example, PS
76 PLASTICS NEWS July 2025
