Russian scientists develop a new way to recycle plastic waste

A statement issued by the university’s press service said: “Scientists at our university have discovered a new method that makes the process of recycling plastic waste easier and safer for the environment. The method uses catalysts extracted from clay.”

The statement added: “All over the world there are problems related to the disposal of plastic waste, and there are huge quantities of plastic that are sent to landfills every year, a small part of which is subject to recycling and the rest is burned, which causes the release of large quantities of harmful substances into the environment.” Chemically analyzing plastic and recycling it is important to preserve the environment, and plastic waste can be converted into materials that can be used later as additional sources of fuel or as raw materials for chemical industries or the production of polymers. Today, plastic is chemically analyzed at high temperatures, and expensive catalysts are used in these processes. “Relatively expensive, we have been able to develop catalysts that are cheap and are extracted from components found in nature such as clay.”

Regarding the topic, Vladimir Kharitontsev, a professor at the university’s Faculty of Science, said: “The presence of large quantities of clay in the Tyumen region helps us extract the catalysts for plastic waste decomposition processes, which will reduce the cost of recycling this waste. In theory, different types of clay can be used.” “With different mineral compositions to extract catalysts, it is necessary to conduct additional experimental studies to obtain new types of catalysts.”

Source: Vesti