Manufacturing and distribution of plastics are ubiquitous: global plastics production increased from 230 million tons to 322 million tons from 2005 to 2015. Plastic recycling is still a young industry despite the ubiquity of plastics, because when plastic is first put into service Nobody really considered recycling.
Although one can see so many opportunities for plastic recycling growth, there are still many challenges facing this less mature recycling industry where scientists from different perspectives choose different approaches to exploring ways to improve waste plastics Recycling methods and ways.
At present, the commonly used method of recycling and recycling waste plastic is mainly mechanical and physical recovery, energy recovery and chemical recovery.Recently published in the "Science" on the study introduced some new methods, the use of this method can greatly enhance the successful recovery of plastic solid waste The scope of these approaches may include the recovery of different types of plastics together in a single waste cycle, the avoidance of costly and time-consuming sorting processes, and the more energy-efficient decomposition of plastics.The study identified three key issues.
1, compatibilizer
Recycling of traditional plastics must be reclaimed after classification, which adds to the effort and expense Plastic is made of macromolecules so that most similar molecular materials do not mix when heated The focus of the research is to find ways to promote different Types of plastic materials that are compatibilizers that allow them to be recycled together. Finding a compatible compatibilizer for all polymers is ideal, and scientists state that the current technology requires that each plastic mix be used Tailor-made approach.
2, the catalyst
Chemical recovery involves the use of catalysts to break down plastics to get small molecule products, the researchers said: 'High energy costs hinder this process, and research and development of more efficient catalysts are key.
3, no melting recovery method
More challenging is the development of polymers that can be recycled without melting at high temperatures, such as thermosets and elastomers (rubber materials) .The researchers say the key to any potential solution is that the material's properties are unaffected To make it easier to recycle.Multiple use and recycling of plastics without loss of performance is an open challenge to research.
