The researchers are looking at what materials should be used. They have tried other catalysts, like ruthenium and Platinum, but they are still looking for something else. Rorrer says that better understanding how the catalysts work could allow them to replacecobalt with cheaper, more abundant catalysts.
The framework for a fully mixed-feed plastic recycling system is not far-fetched.
Achieving that vision will require some changes. A challenge to chemical recycling methods could be posed by the presence of oxygen and chlorine in some plastic materials.
Researchers still need to figure out other ways to handle that plastic because if it winds up in this system, it could cause problems.
Other ways to recycle plastic are being explored by scientists. In a study published in Science in October, researchers used a chemical process to break down a mixture of three common plastic.
The first step in chemical oxidation is to cut up long chains. Shannon Stahl is a lead author of the research and a chemist at the University of Wisconsin.
Products can be eaten by soilbacteria that have been altered to feast on them, if the plastic is oxidized. New forms of nylon can be made by altering the metabolism of thebacteria.
One of the authors of the Science study is a Biologist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The team is trying to understand the metabolism of the organisms that are making the products so that they can speed up the process and produce more useful materials.
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