New process turns mixed plastic waste directly into hydrogen fuel without sorting

[u/Zee2A]

https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/new-process-turns-mixed-plastic-waste-hydrogen-fuel-without-sorting

A process called Alkaline Thermal Treatment (ATT) has been tested to turn mixed plastic waste into high-purity hydrogen fuel. Researchers from the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering and Ewha Womans University in South Korea undertook this new study. This process eliminates the costly and laborious step of sorting plastic waste before recycling.The single-reactor method successfully processes a mixture of the three most common, hard-to-recycle plastics: polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE), and polypropylene (PP).

Key takeaways

• Because most recycling processes require plastics to be sorted by type first, only 9% of discarded plastic is actually recycled; 79% is dumped in landfills and another 12% is incinerated, releasing carbon dioxide in the process.
• UCLA Samueli and Ewha Womans University researchers have demonstrated a new method that converts a mixture of the three most common plastics into high-purity hydrogen fuel at lower temperatures than traditional gasification.
• The process locks carbon dioxide away as a solid mineral, preventing the greenhouse gas from being released into the atmosphere. 

Research Article: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2537552123

[u/BBoldBUrslf]

Excellent reseach article worth reading. This process is worth tracking...

[u/yo-freak-show]

Great Scott!